All for Love
by arygon199
Summary: When Lucas Scott decided to ask Peyton Sawyer to Las Vegas he thinks he's made the right decision, but months later things aren't turning out exactly the way he planned. Major Brucas.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This is my first One Tree Hill fan fic, so I hope you'll all like it. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, so please review! I know the first chapter is pretty short, but it's just a sort of intro/prologue. This whole story is basically my take on what I _hope_ will happen in season 6. Just a warning, though, this fic is based loosely on season 6 spoilers!

Also, this is very much a Brucas story, but to get to where they need to be, we're gonna have to go through some Leyton. But don't worry, the Leyton stuff won't last too long, I promise!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. This world belongs to Mark Schwahn and the CW, I'm just playing with it.

**Chapter 1**

Lucas Scott sat on his couch with his head in his hands, trying to drown out the loud voices around him. It had been a long day and all he had wanted to do when he got home was fall into bed and sleep the night away.

But unfortunately, Peyton Sawyer had other plans.

"Lucas, are you even listening to me?"

Her aggravated voice forced him to open his eyes and look up at his fiancée.

"Um…"

"Yeah, I didn't think so." She sighed and sat down next to him on the couch, putting her hands over his. "Come on, Luke, this is our wedding we're talking about. I really need your input."

He shrugged in response. "I honestly don't have any input to give, Peyton. I already told you a million times that it was your wedding to plan. I'll be fine with whatever you decide."

"You say that now, but--,"

"Peyton, give the poor guy some space," Haley interrupted and Lucas couldn't help but smile in gratitude.

Peyton looked at Haley with a mixture of betrayal and annoyance. "Haley, the wedding's in two months! We can't just leave all the details until the week before. Besides, this time I actually need Lucas' opinion. He needs to pick out his tux."

Lucas groaned; this is exactly what he _didn't_ want to tonight—pick out clothes. "Why don't you let Brooke pick it out? She's the expert on fashion, I'm sure she'll find me the best suit possible."

Peyton stared at him with an impatient expression, as if she couldn't believe he even suggested that, before shaking her head in disbelief. "Lucas, Brooke is _not_ picking out your suit! She's already got my dress to worry about plus a million other things. I'm not gonna make her worry about anything else."

His shoulders sagged in defeat. "Fine. Give me the magazine then."

As he scanned through the magazine, looking at all of the choices, which, quite frankly, all looked the same, he found it very hard to concentrate. To say that these past few months had been nothing like he had expected would be an understatement. Three months ago, Lucas had asked Peyton to Las Vegas, where he intended on marrying her. However, after deciding getting married in Vegas simply wasn't romantic enough they had settled on an engagement.

But Peyton didn't want to wait long to get married. In fact, she would have married him the minute they returned to Tree Hill if she had had her way. Luckily, Lucas and the others had convinced her to wait a few more months.

Lucas hadn't been looking forward to planning a wedding at all, after all he had done it all before only a few months before, but after he had time to think about it, he was glad that he and Peyton hadn't rushed into marriage. In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but worry that they were rushing into things. He had thought that by getting back together, his and Peyton's relationship would go back to how it used to be. But it didn't and, although he hoped it would as time went by, he had begun to wonder if it ever would. It had been three months and very little had changed between them. He had thought that he had made the right choice by asking Peyton, after all she _had_ came to the airport ready to marry him, but now he was beginning to wonder. And that scared the hell out of him.

"I like that one," Lucas muttered, pointing to a random suit on the page he had been mindlessly staring at.

"Good choice, Luke," Haley said, smiling at him in encouragement.

"See, that wasn't too hard, was it?" Peyton said, kissing him on the cheek.

"Nope," he sighed, standing up and heading towards his bedroom. "I'm gonna hit the sack. It's been a long day."

"I'll join you in a bit, Lucas," Peyton said, flipping through a bridal magazine. "I've got a few more things to do."

"Yeah," Lucas muttered, running a hand through his hair. "See you, Hales."

"I should probably get going," Haley said, standing up with Lucas. "Knowing Nathan, Jamie's probably still up playing video games and eating ice cream or something like that. I'll see you later, Peyton. Come on, Luke, walk me out."

Lucas glanced at her curiously, but followed her towards the front door.

"I'll see you later, then," he said as she made her way outside.

"Lucas, wait," she said, motioning for him to join her on the front porch. He quietly closed the door behind her and waited for her to speak.

"Is everything okay between you and Peyton?" Haley asked softly, the concern evident in her voice.

"What? Yeah, everything's fine. Why do you ask?"

"It's just… I don't know. Maybe I'm reading too much into things but you don't seem very happy. And I just thought that since you were finally back together you'd be a bit more enthusiastic about marrying her."

"I thought so too, to be honest," Lucas murmured.

"Have you ever thought that might have rushed into this too quickly? I mean maybe you should wait a little while longer to get married. Like a full year or something."

"Haley, why are you mentioning this? Weren't you the one who encouraged me to make a choice? I made a choice, Haley, and it was Peyton, and I'm gonna stick with that choice."

"Luke," Haley said quietly, "I didn't want you to hide your heart any longer, so yeah I did want you to make a choice, but I didn't mean you had to do it right away. Look, I love Peyton like a sister. And I love you like a brother. I want you both to be happy, but right now you two barely seem to be holding on. You argue with each other all the time and _you _don't seem the least bit interested in your own wedding. And you just don't seem happy. At least not the way you should be now that you've made your final choice."

"We're happy, Haley." Lucas turned to go; he was done with arguing tonight and he definitely didn't feel like discussing his and Peyton's relationship with her any longer.

"Are you really, though?"

He paused, his hand frozen on the door knob. "It doesn't really matter anymore, does it?"

With that, Lucas slammed the door, leaving a disappointed Haley behind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Brooke Davis stared admiringly at the elegant white dress before her. There was no doubt in her mind that it was beautiful, maybe even her best dress yet, but for some reason looking at it made her feel odd. She wasn't sure what the feeling was, it felt like a mixture of both relief and sadness, but she didn't like it.

She did know one thing, though: Peyton Sawyer was going to look absolutely stunning in it.

"Brooke, where are you?" a voice called from the main part of her store.

"In the back," she replied, not taking her eyes off the dress.

She heard the faint clicking a heels coming closer and closer and then a sharp intake of breath.

"Wow. It's… it's amazing, Brooke."

"I thought you'd say that," she said, smiling widely as she turned from the dress to greet her best friend.

Peyton walked slowly towards the dress, her eyes wide and her smile even wider. "I can't believe it's finally done," she said, hesitantly touching the dress as if it was a very breakable glass vase.

"_Almost_ done, P. Sawyer. I've still got a few last minute adjustments to make. But it's ready for you to try on if that makes you feel any better."

Brooke wasn't prepared for what Peyton did next.

"Not today," she said, her smile turning into a frown. "I'm kind of busy. I promised to meet Haley at the recording studio and I just barely had time to make it down here."

"Oh, come on, Peyton," Brooke said, "it'll only take a few minutes. Besides," she motioned towards the clock, "Haley's not even out of school yet. She's got another half hour to go."

Peyton's hesitation surprised Brooke, but she quickly gave up, obviously not in the mood to argue. "Alright," she said, smiling again, "let's do this."

A few minutes later Peyton stood staring at herself in the mirror with Brooke right behind her, praising the dress and the girl who wore it.

"You look amazing," she said, putting an arm around her friend's shoulder. "Really, Peyton, you're gonna blow everyone away. Lucas won't be able to take his eyes off of you."

Peyton smiled lightly, but said nothing. It didn't take long for Brooke to know that something was bothering her. She was trying on her wedding dress, after all. That fact alone should make a women glow with happiness. But all Brooke saw when she looked at Peyton was pure uncertainty.

"Peyton," Brooke said, turning her away from the mirror to face her, "what's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Peyton replied, looking at her in feigned innocence.

Brooke kinked an eyebrow. "You know exactly what I mean. Why aren't you beaming in excitement? This is your wedding dress, for God's sake! You should be thrilled!"

Peyton shook her head, refusing to admit that anything was wrong. "I _am_ thrilled, Brooke." As if to prove her point her mouth widened into a huge smile. Brooke didn't buy it for a minute.

"Yeah," Brooke scoffed, "try to turn the excitement level down notch, it's a bit overwhelming."

Peyton sighed and turned back towards the mirror, running her hands over the dress over and over. Brooke let her be, knowing that there was no point in pushing her to talk. She would talk when she was ready.

"I guess…"

Brooke perked up at the sound of Peyton's voice and waited intently for her to continue.

"I don't know…" Peyton said a few moments later, her shoulders sagging. "I guess I'm just nervous about this whole thing."

Brooke took Peyton's hand and smiled sympathetically. "Look, I'm not an expert on weddings or anything, I mean, obviously I've never been engaged, but I'm pretty sure it very normal to be nervous about getting married."

"Yeah, I know," Peyton agreed, "but… I'm just worried that something's gonna go wrong, you know? That he's gonna change his mind or something. I mean these past few weeks Lucas has been really distant. And he doesn't seem excited at all for the wedding."

"Ah," Brooke said, "so this is about Lucas."

"Of course it's about him," Peyton said wearily. Sighing heavily, she sat down on one of the stools. "He just doesn't seem happy, Brooke."

"Peyton," Brooke said, sitting down next to her and squeezing her hand, "of course he's happy. He loves you. He wants to marry you. He's just not into the whole wedding planning thing."

"Yeah, maybe you're right. But still I feel horrible because… because _I'm _not happy." Peyton turned slowly to look at Brooke with tears forming in her eyes. Instinctively, Brooke brought her close to her in a tight hug.

She found it incredibly hard to believe that Peyton, who had waited so long for Lucas to be hers again, wasn't happy now that they were actually back together. If it had been her who had finally won back the love of her life, she didn't think she'd ever be unhappy again. Yet here was Peyton, the girl Lucas Scott was supposedly meant to be with, crying in her arms because she was unhappy with her and Lucas' relationship.

"Listen," Brooke said, pulling away to look at Peyton, "you need to talk to Lucas. I think that you're just stressed out about this whole thing. Maybe you should both take a few days off and just spend some time alone. I'm sure you two can work it out."

"I don't know, Brooke," Peyton muttered. "It's just not how I thought being back together would be. It's so different than it was back in high school. But I guess you're right, I'll talk to him."

"Good," Brooke said, smiling gently as she wiped the tears from Peyton's eyes. "Now, you should probably get dressed if you want to meet Haley on time."

"Oh," Peyton's eyes widened I surprise, "I almost forgot. God, it's almost three! I gotta go."

Brooke watched her change hurriedly back into her clothes, gently setting aside her wedding dress, before walking swiftly back towards the main shop.

"Thanks for the advice, Brooke," Peyton said, turning to smile back at her.

"No problem, P. Sawyer," she replied. "Just do yourself a favor and don't worry, okay?"

"I'll try not to," Peyton grinned. "See you later."

"See you," Brooke murmured, watching as Peyton's back disappeared through the door.

She sat back down at the stool, staring absently at Peyton's dress, and thought about what had just occurred. She had always thought that if Lucas and Peyton got back together everything would work out perfectly. And to be honest, that's what it had seemed to be like the past few months. She had thought that the two of them were beyond happy.

After all, weren't Lucas Scott and Peyton Sawyer always meant to be? Somehow, Brooke wasn't so sure anymore.

* * *

Brooke had been lying on her couch, perfecting a few of her newest sketches, when the doorbell rang. She sat up quickly, wondering who would be visiting her at this time of night. She made her way silently towards the door, not sure if she wanted to answer it.

Ever since Peyton had moved in with Lucas, Brooke had found herself a bit more cautious when it came to leaving her doors locked at night. She was living alone now and she thought often of the possibility of a robber or someone worse invading her home. But when she peered through her peek hole and saw Lucas's face staring back at her, she quickly opened the door.

"Hey," he said, smiling weakly at her. "Sorry to bother you so late, I just had to get out of the house."

"It's okay," she replied, staring at him curiously. "I always love spending time with you, even at eleven thirty at night."

He grinned and followed her into the house, joining her on the couch. She watched as he leaned back and ran a hand through his short blonde hair before closing his eyes.

"What's up, Luke?" she asked quietly.

He sighed. "Peyton and I had a fight," he said, not bothering to open his eyes.

"Oh," was all she could say. She really hoped that whatever they were fighting about had nothing to do with what she and Peyton had been talking about earlier, yet she couldn't help the worried feeling that arose in her stomach. "So, um, what about, if you don't mind me asking?"

Lucas shook his head and laughed in aggravation. "She thinks that we should go to pre-marriage counseling."

"Luke," Brooke said, not seeing why he was so frustrated, "pre-marriage counseling is completely normal for engaged couples. Tons of people do it."

"I know," he muttered, putting his head in his hands, "I just feel like it should be so much easier than this, that we shouldn't _have_ to go to get counseled before we're even married."

Brooke didn't know what to day to that. Instead she stared forlornly down at one of her sketches and remained silent, letting him do the talking. She couldn't help but feel a bit surprised, though; she knew that relationships were never easy but Lucas made it seem like something was seriously wrong with his and Peyton's relationship.

"She doesn't think I'm happy."

She turned quickly back to look at him. His head was still in his hands and his shoulders sagged in defeat. He looked so…vulnerable.

"Are you?"

He lifted his face slowly up and looked at her, his eyes shining with uncertainty.

"No… I'm not happy, Brooke."

She didn't say anything, she _couldn't_ say anything. How could he _not_ be happy? He and Peyton were finally together. They were getting married. Things were supposed to get better from here. The drama was supposed to be over.

"I… I don't know what to say, Lucas."

"You don't need to say anything," he murmured. "The thing is, I thought that by choosing Peyton that everything would be over and that things would be perfect. But nothing is perfect and I'm not happy and to be honest I don't think she is either. Maybe…maybe she and I just aren't meant to be. Maybe we're better off as friends."

"Don't say that," Brooke said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"But I have to. Because I think it just might be true."

"You've been through too much for things to just end like this," she said, taking his hand. "You can't give up."

Lucas looked at her, pure agony in his eyes, and slowly shook his head. "I don't really have a choice. I can't choose who I love. I know that now… I'm going to end the relationship. I can't do this to her any longer."

"Lucas," Brooke pleaded, "you need to think about this--,"

"I have thought about it, Brooke," he sighed. "I've thought about it every waking moment these past few months and now I know that I'm right—we're not meant to be."

"Lucas…" Brooke murmured, her voice shaking, "this is gonna devastate her."

"I know," he replied, and there were tears in his eyes, "and I'm gonna hate myself for that."

He didn't say anything else, instead he just sat there, looking so conflicted that Brooke unconsciously pulled him towards her and wrapped her arms around him. She had nothing else to say and, even though she didn't completely agree with what he was doing, she knew that she would support him through whatever he decided. Because he was her friend. And she loved him.

**A/N: **Thanks so much to all those who read the first chapter—I hope you enjoyed it! And a special thanks to evergloweyes and chameron-brucas-chuckblair4eva for reviewing!

And please, _please_ remember to review! I really need the feedback and it's what inspires me to keep writing. So if you liked it, let me know, if you didn't and you think there are some things I need to work on, let me know. Any type of constructive feedback is welcome! So, once again, thanks for reading and remember to review!!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! You guys are amazing! I don't think anyone one really needs this explained, but I thought I'd let you know that everything in italics is a flashback.**

**Chapter 3**

Lucas was sleeping now, still on her couch, his shoes thrown off and his feet hanging off the too short couch. She watched him silently from the chair wondering what would happen now. Three months ago things seemed to finally be going both Lucas and Peyton's way. Now, though, everything seemed so messed up.

She had been happy for them, although at first she was slightly aggravated about the whole thing. Actually, she had been nothing short of a mess. The whole thing, along with the robbery of her store, had been a bit too much for her. She remembered the first time she saw Lucas after he and Peyton had come back to Vegas. She had not been too happy with him then.

"_Hey, Brooke," he said, smiling as he greeted her behind the clothes rack, his hands in his pockets in a carefree way. _

"_Oh, you're back," she said flatly, turning away from him and walking towards the cashier. It was noon and no one else was in the store, so she didn't feel too bad for acting rudely around him. She had already seen Peyton and their reunion hadn't gone too well. She had a feeling this one wouldn't either. "Have a nice trip?" she asked. The sarcasm in her voice was more than clear and she hoped he would get the picture that he wasn't welcome._

"_Yeah," he said, and she could hear the guilt in his voice._

"_Hmm, how wonderful. Well, as you can see, I'm busy, so I'll have to talk to you later."_

"_Brooke..." he said, following her as she went into the backroom. _

"_I said I'm busy, Lucas," she said in frustration as she turned to glare at him._

"_Wait," he said quietly, his voice etched with concern, "what happened to your eye?"_

"_You would know if you had been here."_

_She turned away, not wanting him to see the hurt in her face, and began to fold clothes. She couldn't help but be angry with him for being gone when he needed her most. Angie had just left and the same night her mother had returned to Tree Hill demanding her job back, and the night after that her store was robbed. Altogether, it had been a horrible few days and she had needed them both. And they had both just left with only a vague text message telling everyone else they were okay. And, no matter how selfish it was, it pissed her off._

"_I'm sorry," he said simply. He was sincere, Brooke knew that, but she still couldn't hold back her anger with him. "I really am. But what happened exactly? Haley told me that you were robbed, but she didn't say you'd been hurt."_

_Brooke shrugged. "Yeah, well that's what happens when you try to defend yourself," she said and she couldn't help the sarcastic edge to her voice._

_She could feel Lucas' eyes on her, but she didn't look at him because she knew that if she looked into his pleading blue eyes and saw the sincerity behind them she would crumble._

"_You're right," he said quietly, "I should have been here. I should have saved you."_

_The moment those words came out of his mouth she fell apart. She looked at him with tears in her eyes and knew that she couldn't be angry with him anymore. He was staring back at her with an anguished look on his face and, when he saw the tears sliding down her cheek, he immediately rushed towards her, pulling her close to him._

"_I'm so sorry, Brooke," he murmured into her hair._

_She clung to him, suddenly feeling very guilty for the way she had been acting, and rested her head on his chest._

"_You have nothing to be sorry for," she said after a few moments. "It's not your job to save me anymore."_

_He was rubbing slow circles on her back and it was all she could do not to pull away, to be free of the terrible feelings he gave her when he touched her-- things she should definitely _not_ be feeling,._

"_Maybe you think it isn't," he said firmly, "but I _want_ to save you and I promised you along time ago that I would. That promise still stands. I hate seeing you like this, Brooke… in so much pain. I'd do anything to take that away."_

_She was struggling to choke back a sob now. She hated how he made her feel. So safe, so warm, so _loved_. But right now she needed him more than anything._

"_It's okay, Lucas. Really, I should be apologizing for acting so selfish."_

"_You're not being selfish, Brooke," he said, looking down at her with his piercing blue eyes. "You needed me and I wasn't there for you. You had just lost Angie, and you had been robbed and I had just left without any warning, taking your best friend along with me, who you also needed more than anyone. If anything _I _was the selfish one."_

_Brooke shook her head and smiled lightly against his chest. "You're never selfish. You're amazing and I'm lucky to have you as a friend."_

"_I'm lucky to have you too," he murmured. "I don't deserve you, I really don't…"_

"Brooke…" His soft voice interrupted her thoughts. He slowly sat up, squinting at her as he ran a hand through his short messy hair. "How long have I been out?"

"It's about half past one, so just about an hour," she said softly, trying her best to shake off the memory. She regretted how she treated both him and Peyton when they returned. It had been wrong and selfish and if she could have taken that day back, she would have. Although she was more ashamed for how she had acted towards Peyton than Lucas—she had basically asked for Peyton's key to the house and sent her on her way, completely ignoring her for the next few days. For some reason it had been a lot easier to forgive Lucas.

Lucas sighed and laid his head back on the pillow. "I know that I should probably go home, but I just don't think I'm ready."

"You can stay here as long as you like." And she meant that. She loved having him here with her, never having to worry about holding anything back. She could just be herself with him. He made her feel special, like she was the only girl in the room, which in this case she was, but still he had that way about him that just made her feel good about herself.

"Thanks," he said, smiling in her direction. "You're the best, Brooke Davis."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she said smirking. "Now get some sleep."

"Alright, but you should probably get some sleep too. Have you been awake this whole time?"

"I was just finishing up some sketches," she said, holding up one them to show him. "But I'm pretty much done now so I'm gonna head up to bed."

"Good night then," he said as she stood up and headed towards the stairs. "And thanks for everything."

Brooke simply nodded, sending him a weak smile as she trudged up the stairs. So many thoughts ran through her head… Were Peyton and Lucas really not meant to be? How long has Lucas been feeling this way? Did he love someone else? Lindsay maybe? Would he really break it off with Peyton or would he realize that he was just nervous?

And most importantly, why in the world was he making her feel _those_ feelings—the feelings she thought she hadn't felt for years now— for him again?

* * *

"Sleep well?" Brooke asked the next morning as she greeted Lucas in her kitchen.

"Yup," he said, smiling as he poured her a cup of coffee. "You've got quite a comfy couch." He handed her the coffee and gently kissed her forehead, sending a shiver through her spine that she fitfully tried to ignore. Just because he was breaking up with Peyton didn't mean she could have feelings for him, she wouldn't allow it. "Thanks for letting me stay here, Brooke. I really appreciate it."

"No problem," she replied, turning away from him and trying to stop those forbidden feelings. They both sat down at the counter, sipping their coffees in a comfortable silence. There were a million things she wanted to ask him, but instead she settled on just one question.

"Are you really gonna do it, Lucas?"

He looked down at his coffee cup and sighed. "Yeah," was all he said.

She inhaled sharply, not exactly surprised by the answer, but just by the reality of it all.

"Are you completely sure?"

He nodded, looking straight into her eyes. "I've never been more sure in my life."

"Okay," Brooke muttered, taking a sip of her coffee. "So…when should I expect Peyton home, then?" She couldn't help the bitter tone in her voice. She just hated that in a small matter of time Peyton's whole life would be shattered.

He was silent for a moment before answering. "I don't know," he said quietly. "Tonight probably."

"That soon?" Brooke asked, raising an eyebrow in disapproval.

"This isn't something I can put off, Brooke. I need to do it as soon as possible."

"But what if you change your mind?"

"I won't."

"But how can you know that for sure?"

He sighed. "I've been sure for almost a month now. I'm not gonna change my mind. You just gotta trust me, okay?"

She remained silent for a moment, considering his words. He sounded so sure of himself despite the fact that he was making such a huge, life changing decision. But then again, she had no idea what was going on in that head of his, so she would just have to do as he said—trust him.

"Okay," she finally said.

He nodded and took a last gulp of his coffee before turning to leave. "So I'm probably not going to be coming over here again anytime soon after tonight… but I love hanging out with you, Brooke, so you can come to my place anytime you want. I mean, not that you don't do that now, but still…I just wanted you to know." He said this last part all very quickly and Brooke couldn't help but grin.

"Thanks, Luke. I'll probably take you up on that."

"Good," he said grinning, "well I'm gonna head out. I'll see you later."

She nodded slowly. "Yeah." She didn't know what else to say. Lucas smiled weakly at her as he left and shut the door quickly behind him.

So this was it. He was going to break up with Peyton and sometime very soon she would be picking up the pieces of Peyton's broken heart. Peyton had said she was unhappy, but Brooke knew that more than anything she was just worried that Lucas was pulling away from her, that he'd call the whole thing off.

And now her very worst fear was coming true. And she would be absolutely devastated.

Brooke stared down at her almost full coffee cup and sighed. This was going to be a very long day.

**A/N: **I hope you liked this chapter! I hope the flashback didn't seem too out of place, I just kind of wanted to show a little bit of what it was like for Brooke when Lucas and Peyton returned and that the anger she felt for them might be more than just being angry with them for leaving when she needed them most. Anyway, next chapter is where things start to get interesting.

Thanks for reading and remember to review!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Uncle Luke!"

Lucas smiled at the sound of his nephew's voice as he entered the home of the Scott family. It took only a second for Jamie to realize he was here and when he did he came running to meet him.

"Hey buddy!" Lucas said, grinning widely as he gave his nephew a hug. "How's my favorite nephew doing?"

"Well," he said matter-of-factly, "Daddy let me shoot hoops with him this morning and I won!"

"No surprise there. No one can win against the great James Scott!"

"Everyone knows that," Nathan Scott said as he joined the other two in the living room, Haley following closely behind him. "Hey Lucas."

"Hey Nathan," Lucas said, grinning at his younger brother. "Hales," he added, smiling lightly towards her. He still felt bad about the other night and the way he had acted towards her, but what made him even more uncomfortable was the fact that she _knew_ something was up between him and Peyton and that it would be awhile before she let it go.

"Hi Luke," she said quietly before turning to Jamie. "Honey, you're gonna be late for school if we don't leave. Let's get going, okay?"

"Okay, Momma," he said, taking her hand. "Uncle Luke, are you gonna be here after school?"

"I don't think so, Jamie," he said, smiling guiltily at him. No, if he was planning to go through with this whole thing tonight, he definitely wouldn't be. "I've got a lot of things to do today."

"Maybe Uncle Lucas and Aunt Peyton can come over to dinner tonight?" Haley said, giving Lucas a suggestive look that he really didn't like.

"Actually we've got plans tonight," Lucas responded. "But I promise we'll hang out sometime soon, Jamie. Maybe tomorrow you and I can shoot some hoops down at the River Court?"

"Yeah!" Jamie said excitedly.

Haley looked at him curiously, but didn't say anything else but a simple goodbye as she led Jamie through the door. But when Lucas turned to look at Nathan, he was not pleased to find his brother looking at him oddly. Nathan motioned for him to join him in the kitchen and he followed grudgingly, despite the fact that he knew Nathan would most likely ask him questions he wouldn't want to answer.

"Is something up, Lucas?" Nathan asked, offering him a glass of orange juice.

He shrugged nonchalantly and took the glass. "Nope, everything's good."

Truth was everything was _not_ good, but he couldn't let Nathan know it. He debated telling Nathan what he was planning to do tonight but decided against it. It was wrong for people to know that he was going to break up with Peyton before she even knew. And, with the exception of Brooke, he was not planning on telling anyone else until he actually did it.

"Really? Then why are you and Haley acting so weird around each other?"

Was Nathan really that observant? He and Haley had acted almost completely normal around each other and he found it strange that Nathan took notice of the only slightly tense moment that occurred a few minutes ago.

"What are you taking about?" Lucas frowned, trying his best to look as innocent as possible.

Nathan sighed. "Luke, Haley told me about your little argument. I know what's going on."

It took almost all of his strength not to groan. Why did Haley feel the need to tell Nathan _everything_?

"I don't think you do," Lucas murmured. He wasn't at all interested in starting this conversation. "Listen, Nate, I don't really want to talk about this right now, okay?"

"Sure, man," he responded coolly. "Anyway, it's not me you need to talk to."

Lucas glared at him, his temper flaring. Why did Nathan have to provoke him like this?

"I'm gonna talk to her, Nathan," he said, setting the glass of orange juice down and heading towards the door. "And I told you—I don't want to have this conversation."

Nathan followed him, obviously not willing to give up yet.

"Look, Luke," he said calmly, putting a hand on Lucas' shoulder. "Whatever happens, I'm here for you. Actually, to be honest, I really don't have much of an idea of what's going on, but from what Haley has told me things aren't looking great. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is just make sure to think about everything and try to make things work. Peyton loves you like crazy, Lucas, and after all the pain she's been through this past year, you owe it to her to at least try to make this work."

Lucas' shoulders drooped as he turned around to look at Nathan and he took a deep breath.

"I appreciate what you're trying to say," he said softly, "but I _have_ thought about it and I _have_ tried. And I know what I need to do."

Nathan looked at him grimly and nodded. "Okay, then I hope you make the right choice."

"That's the thing, Nathan," Lucas sighed. "It's not really a choice, it's just the way my heart feels. Believe me, if it was a choice, things wouldn't be going like this."

"You're probably right," Nathan said. He nodded his head very slowly, as if trying to understand, and sighed. "Well, I guess I'll see you later."

"Yeah," Lucas said, turning to leave, "I'll see you."

Lucas groaned the moment the door shut behind him. Today was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

Peyton Sawyer took a bite of the cold spaghetti. She had made it more than an hour ago thinking that Lucas would be home by now, but he still wasn't back. And he hadn't even called to tell her he was going to be late.

Picking up her cellphone, she punched in his number and tried his phone, only to reach his voicemail. This didn't surprise her; the same thing had happened the last six or so times she had called him in the past hour.

"Forget this," Peyton said, shaking her head angrily as she picked up both plates and flung the contents into the garbage. "Why the hell aren't you answering your phone, Lucas?" she wondered aloud.

She knew that he was probably still angry from their fight last night, but she had at least thought he would show up for dinner tonight. At least that's what he had told her when she talked to him this afternoon. She sat down at the dining table, taking a sip of wine and drumming her fingers on the table. When had things started going so badly for them? She knew that things hadn't been going as smoothly as expected, but she honestly thought that they were okay, that it was just the stress of the upcoming wedding. But now that she thought more about, she realized that it wasn't just stress, they were drifting apart.

And this scared the hell out of her.

She thought back to a time, only a few months ago, when everything had been so perfect. They had been together, happy, and in love. Or so she had thought. Now they struggled to keep up good conversation. Weren't things supposed to be so much easier now that they had finally found each other again? They were definitely _not_ supposed to be falling so far away from each other like they had been lately. A part of her thought that this was just a phase, that they would eventually drift together again, but the other part was wondering if this was truly meant to be. If they were making a mistake.

But she couldn't, no she _wouldn't_, think that way. She had waited so long for this to finally happen and she would not give this up. They were getting married. They were in love. They had just hit a rough patch. And when Lucas got home tonight they would talk things through like adults and figure out how to fix this.

Everything would be fine.

* * *

Lucas twisted the doorknob slowly knowing that the moment he opened the door everything would change. He had thought the whole day about how he was going to do it and he knew that he had to do it as quickly and painlessly as possible.

He chuckled humorlessly. Who was he kidding? There was almost no way that tonight would go by quickly and definitely not painlessly. But he knew he had do it, no matter what the outcome.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened the door. Peyton was sitting at the dining room table, looking down glumly at a half empty glass of wine. The minute she heard the door open her head twisted towards him.

"Hey," she said, smiling as she stood up and walked towards him and placed a hesitant kiss on his cheek. "So the spaghetti didn't really work out," she said, looking guilty for some reason, "but, um, I ordered some pizza a couple of minutes ago."

He nodded slowly and smiled awkwardly. This was not going to be easy.

"So, um…you want a glass of wine? The pizza should be another half hour, but I figured we have a lot to talk about anyway so I guess it kind of worked out well."

"I'm good actually," he said quietly, taking a seat at the table, "I'm not really thirsty."

"Okay," she said, sitting down opposite him. "So…"

"Listen, I'm sorry I didn't call you to tell you I'd be late, I just have a lot on my mind right now and I kind of lost track of time."

"It's no problem, Luke. I'm just glad you came."

He was silent, not really knowing what to say to that and wondered when he should make his move, but she quickly continued a second later.

"Luke, I know that things haven't been going great between us, and I know you don't want to see a counselor, but I at least think we should try to talk things through and figure out the root of the problem so we can fix it…I love you so much, Lucas, and I want so badly for things to work out. We're just gonna have to work at it, you know? Relationships are never easy and ours is no exception. I guess it's taken me awhile to realize that."

"Peyton," he said, knowing now was the time. But she wasn't done yet.

"The thing is, I expected everything to be so easy now that we're together. Maybe that's because when we were last together everything _was _easier. Then again, we were living thousands of miles apart so we never really took each other for granted, but that's beside the point."

"Peyt—,"

"I really think that everything's gonna be okay, we just need to talk about the problems and work with each other to fix it. Because we're meant to be, Lucas. We always have been."

His eyes fell slowly to the table and he suddenly found it very hard to breath. She was making this so much harder than he intended it to be. He truly did love Peyton. He didn't want to hurt her, but what she had just told him was what he had been thinking of for the past few months and it hadn't worked out. He knew that their relationship was over. It had been for awhile. But he hoped more than anything that they could remain friends because now more than ever he realized how much he needed her in his life.

"Peyton," he said quietly, trying to find the courage to tell her how he truly felt. To break her heart, no matter how unintentional it might be, was something he never planned on doing. "I…" His voice broke. "I can't do this anymore."

Silence. Then, "What?"

Her voice was strained and confused, but mostly she just sounded shocked.

"I can't do this anymore, Peyton. It's just not working out."

"Lucas," she said, tears welling up in her eyes, "we can do this. We can work this out. It doesn't have to end like this."

"No," he said, and the tears were forming in his own eyes, "it does. You don't understand how long I've been thinking about this. How long it took me to make this decision."

"I don't understand, Lucas." She was crying now and it broke his heart.

"I know," he said gently, "and I'm so sorry. Peyton, it kills me do this, to break your heart. But I have to because if we stayed together any longer it wouldn't be fair to you or me."

"Tell me one thing then," she said, now more angry than anything, "why the hell did you ask me to Vegas, to _marry_ you, if you just planned on breaking it off?"

"I didn't plan on anything, Peyton," he said calmly. "I thought I was making the right choice. I thought that by choosing you I'd fall in love with you all over again and that we'd have everything we'd ever dreamed of. But that hasn't happened."

"You _told_ me you loved me at the airport, Luke! Hell, you tell me you love me all the time! How can you stand here today and tell me you don't love me? It doesn't make any sense."

"I _do_ love you. I did then and I do now. But I'm not _in_ love with you. And that makes all the difference. I thought it would happen, that I made the right choice, but if I've learned anything these past few months it's that I can't choose my fate. My mind isn't in charge of that. It's my heart, Peyton, and, as much as it kills me to say this, my heart just isn't in this relationship. And I just can't try anymore because it's not fair to either of us."

Peyton was staring at him, tears pouring freely down her face, with a mixture of anger and agony. He looked back at her with a pained expression, knowing that the damage was done, that her heart was broken.

"Am I not good enough for you, Luke?" she cried, raising her hands up in frustration. "Is that it? Or are you in love with someone else? God, Luke, what did I do wrong?"

"You did nothing wrong, Peyton," he said, standing up and pulling her into a hug. "This isn't your fault at all. Never ever think that. The truth is, you're too good for me. You deserve someone so much better than me. Someone who can love you like you deserve to be loved."

"But I want _you_," she whispered, crying into his shoulder. "I only want you. There is no one else for me."

"There is, though, Peyton. And he's going to love you unconditionally and make you so unbelievably happy. And you're going to love him the same way. Someday you'll look back at us and wonder how your love for me could have ever compared to the way you feel about him. And it may take you awhile to find that guy, but trust me, Peyton, it _will_ happen."

She just shook her head and pulled away. "I don't think so, Lucas," she murmured. "I really don't…You didn't answer my question, though. Is there someone else?"

He thought of both Lindsay and Brooke, the only other women he had ever loved. Things had been over with Lindsay for a long time and he could honestly say that things worked out for the best with them. But Brooke…he wasn't really sure about her. They had grown so close during the past year. Their friendship was something he treasured more than anything and he truly did love her. But things had slowly changed between them lately in a way he couldn't quite describe and was starting to wonder if his feelings for her were of more than just of a friend.

But despite this he knew that he was not leaving Peyton for anyone other than himself. As of right now, there was no other girl.

"No, Peyton. There is no one else."

Tears were still running down her face as she nodded and looked down at her left hand, where the beautiful ring sat elegantly on her ring finger. She slowly slid it off and handed it to him wordlessly.

"Keep it," he whispered.

"No," she said and he could hear the hurt in her voice. She put it on the table without a word and turned around.

"I'm so sorry for all the pain I've caused you," he said, looking at her back. "I never meant to hurt you, Peyton, I hope you understand that."

It was a few seconds before she responded. "I'm going to pack my things," she said flatly, her voice shaking with emotion. "I'll be gone in less than an hour."

"Okay," he said, watching her retreating form as she headed into his bedroom. He heard the door slam and stood up. He couldn't stay here right now. Not when she was in the next room in so much pain. A tear made its way down his face as he walked out the front door and into his car. It was followed by a steady flow of many more tears. He drove aimlessly, silent despite the tears, and prayed that things would get better. Because right now things weren't looking too good.

**A/N: **Leyton is finally over! It's about time, right? Be sure to drop a review and let me know what you think.

Thanks so much to all those who reading, and especially those who are reviewing!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

There was a light knock on her door. Nothing too loud, just a simple, soft knock, just loud enough for her to hear from her living room. She stood up, taking a deep breath as she prepared to greet her visitor. She knew who it was. There was no need to look through the peephole. And when she opened the door she immediately opened her arms, knowing that her friend would need the comfort.

"Brooke," Peyton sobbed, barely able to make out her name as she walked straight into her arms. She looked so lost, so unbelievably vulnerable, that Brooke almost cried at the sight of her.

"Oh, Peyton," she murmured into her best friend's hair, clinging tightly to her and rubbing slow circles on her back. She didn't want to ask what happened—she already knew of course—but she knew that she needed to. But then again it would probably be best for Peyton to explain, although she didn't want to force anything out of her. So instead she settled on sitting her down on the couch and whispering soft words of comfort into her ear, waiting for Peyton to talk.

"We broke up, Brooke" Peyton cried, a seemingly endless amount of ears flowing down her cheeks.

Brooke hugged her even tighter, still not knowing exactly what to say. "I'm so sorry."

"I…thought…we could work things out," Peyton said, practically choking on her tears. She was sobbing uncontrollably and Brooke was wondering if she had ever seen her cry like this before.

"It's gonna be okay, Peyton," she whispered soothingly. "It'll all work out."

"No," Peyton muttered, pulling away from her, "it won't." She stopped crying. Now she just looked defeated. "It's over, Brooke. He isn't in love with me. We're not meant to be."

Once again, Brooke didn't know what to say. At this point it didn't seem like anything would comfort Peyton. It would take time for her to fully recover, to move on. But tonight she just needed a shoulder to cry on. Tonight she needed her friend. And Brooke would be there for her. They would deal with everything else when the time came.

* * *

Brooke woke up the next morning with Peyton lying next to her on her bed, curled up under the sheets. She was sleeping surprisingly peacefully, probably exhausted from the night before. Dried tears covered her face and black mascara ran down under her eyes. Brooke gently ran a hand through her friend's tangled hair and let a tear of her own fall down her cheek.

She slowly stood up and headed to the bathroom, where she planned to take a long, hot shower. As the steaming water slid down her body, she thought about last night and what had occurred. She and Peyton hadn't talked much; she had simply held tightly onto her for hours, murmuring any type of condolence she could and listening whenever Peyton found the strength to speak. It had been well past midnight when Peyton practically collapsed on the couch, and so Brooke brought her upstairs, where they both fell asleep quicker than she thought possible.

Peyton was in bad shape, though, and Brooke knew that the recovery period would take awhile. She wasn't sure what they would do during that time, how Peyton would manage to be around Lucas or even the people he was close to, but she knew that she would be there for her. She had wanted things to work out for Peyton and Lucas so badly; she had even given up her own relationship with Lucas so long ago for them to be together. And now that their relationship was really over, she had to admit that it made her feel horrible to think back about that decision knowing it wasn't worth it, that they didn't end up together in the end.

And, no matter how much she wanted to stop the thought from coming to her, she wondered what would have happened if she hadn't broken up with him during senior year. Would they still be together? Would they be married with a family of their own? The thought of a family with Lucas made her weak in the knees, so much so that she couldn't bear to think of what could have been any longer.

So then came the forbidden question: if Lucas wasn't meant for Peyton, who _was_ he meant to be with? Lindsay, someone new, _her_? And, better yet, who was _Peyton_ meant for? It was just so weird to think about. She had drilled it over and over again in her mind that it was always Lucas and Peyton, even though, during all these years, there was still a small part of her that really wished that wasn't true.

She was out of the shower now, running a brush through her wet hair before quickly pulling on a pair of sweat pants and an old white tank top. By the looks of things, she definitely wouldn't be going out today.

Once she made it downstairs, she noticed the time. It was almost twelve o'clock. She hadn't realized how long they'd slept. But it was probably for the better, anyway; Peyton needed the rest. She started a pot of coffee and sat down at the counter, staring blankly at nothing in particular.

A loud buzzing noise startled her a few minutes later and she turned to look down at the counter, where her cell phone sat vibrating. She reached for it and looked at the number. Lucas. She sighed, not really sure if she was ready to talk to him yet or if she even wanted to.

Who was she kidding? This was Lucas. _Of course _she wanted to talk to him. She just wasn't sure if Peyton would want her talking to him. But he was probably calling to ask about Peyton anyway, so she decided to answer, just to make sure he wasn't worrying too much.

"Hey," she said quietly, bringing the cell phone up her ear.

"Hey."

She didn't say anything; she just waited for him to ask the question she knew he wanted answered.

"How is she?" And there it was.

"She's not doing too well."

She heard a long sigh on his end of the line. "I didn't think so."

"Do you still think you made the right choice?"

"Yeah," he replied firmly, not even hesitating. "I just wish I didn't have to hurt her so much."

"Yeah, me too."

There was a long pause then, "Listen, I've got to talk to you about something. It's kind of important. Can I meet you sometime later today?"

"Luke, Peyton needs me—,"

"I know, and believe me I don't want her to be alone right now, but do you think you could maybe take a half hour today and just come to my place? It won't take any longer than that, I promise."

She heard the pounding of footsteps coming down the stairs—Peyton was up. "Yeah, I'll see. Um, I gotta go."

"Alright. But Brooke?"

Brooke shifted uncomfortably in her seat, not wanting Peyton to catch her speaking to Lucas. She just didn't think her friend was ready for that.

"Yeah?"

"Promise me you'll take care of her okay?"

"I will," she promised and she quickly hung up.

"Hey, sleepyhead," she said cheerfully as Peyton stalked grumpily into the kitchen, a frown on her face.

"I want to kill Lucas."

Brooke couldn't help but laugh. Apparently Peyton was now in the angry stage of the break up. But she was pretty sure she'd go back to being sad after she had her cup of coffee.

"Don't we all," Brooke said, smiling as she handed Peyton some coffee. Peyton grabbed it gruffly, taking a long sip, before moodily staring down at the countertop.

"So…" Brooke said, not knowing where to begin. "How are you feeling?"

"To be honest," Peyton said, running both hands through her hair. "I'm not sure if I've ever felt worse."

Brooke walked over to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "That's understandable. I mean this is kind of a huge deal."

"Yeah," Peyton murmured, taking another sip of coffee. "I just…I _really_ don't want to talk about it, okay?" She looked over at Brooke, tears welling up in her eyes. She looked miserable. And Brooke hated it.

"Okay," Brooke said, "then we don't have to. So what _do _you want to do?"

Peyton shrugged, letting out a long sigh as she did. "I kind of just want to lie on the couch the whole day and mope. Maybe watch a few depressing movies."

Brooke smiled weakly and took Peyton's hand. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

It was getting late. The sun was setting and the stars were coming out. She and Peyton had mostly laid around the whole day, doing exactly as Peyton wanted—watching an array of movies both depressing and not, as well as some sleeping in between. And crying too. Peyton definitely did her fair share of that.

Haley was over now. She had brought a big box of pizza and plenty of other comfort foods and was now sitting with Peyton in the living room watching some horror film.

Brooke still hadn't gone to see Lucas. She knew Peyton wouldn't approve if she did, but she also knew that she had to. Lucas had called again a couple of minutes ago, leaving her a message reminding her to come see him. She hadn't answered, but she decided that now was the time to go.

"I'm gonna head out to the store to pick up a few things," Brooke said, heading into the living room. It was a lame excuse, but it was all she could come up with. She'd stop by the store on her way home and pick up some milk or something.

Peyton was lying on the couch, a half a slice of pizza in her hand, staring blankly at the TV screen. She didn't respond. She didn't even bat an eyelash. Haley, on the other hand, who sat on the floor watching the movie with a horrified expression on her face, turned from the screen and nodded.

"Sure, take your time."

There was something in the way that Haley said it that made Brooke think something was up. She sounded like she knew something. Like she knew that Lucas needed to talk to her. Brooke debated on pulling Haley aside and just straight up asking her if she knew what was going on, but decided against it. She'd find out soon enough anyway.

A few minutes later she was in her car, driving towards Lucas'. She wondered why he was so persistent about talking to her. At first, she had assumed he wanted to talk about Peyton or something related to her, but as the day went by she began to wonder why he couldn't just talk to her over the phone instead of in person. If he wanted to talk about Peyton he could definitely do that over the phone. So by the time she pulled into his driveway she was finding herself extremely curious.

He greeted her at his door the minute she reached it.

"I'm glad you came," he said, smiling widely at the sight of her.

"No problem," she said, following him inside his bedroom. "What's going—,"

But she didn't need to ask anything more. On his bed was a big suitcase piled with clothes and other belongings. He was leaving. That's what he needed to tell her.

"Where are you going?" she asked, her eyes narrowed in confusion.

"I'm taking off for a little while," he said, putting his hands in his pockets. "I just need some time to think."

"Oh," she muttered, a bit shocked that he was going to leave after all that had happened. "How long?"

"Just a couple of weeks. A month at the most."

"Oh," she said again.

"I'm leaving tonight actually," he said when she didn't say anything else. "That's kind of why I was so persistent today about you coming over. I just wanted to tell you in person."

"Yeah," she nodded slowly, "I guess that makes sense. So, um, where are you going?"

"I'm gonna fly out to meet my mom and Andy and Lily. I'll be sailing with them."

"Sounds fun," she said quietly, not really meaning it. She just couldn't understand how he could leave at a time like this. It was almost like he was running away from his problems.

"Luke…" she said, turning to look at him. He was staring at her intently, waiting to hear her reaction. "Do you really think this is going to solve anything? I mean it seems like you're just running away from everything. All your problems won't go away just because you're not in Tree Hill."

"I know that," he sighed, "and the thing is I'm not just doing this for myself. I'm doing it for Peyton too. I figure that time away from each other might help heal some of the wounds faster. Imagine how awkward things are gonna if we run into each other all the time when she really hasn't had time to get over me, to get used to not being with me all the time. I just want her to be able adjust to her new life…Without me."

"But I thought you still wanted to be friends?"

"I do. I _really_ do. But it's going to take awhile. I mean think about when we broke up—,"

"I try not to," Brooke said, grinning slightly.

Lucas ignored the comment and continued, "It took awhile for us to really be friends again, you know? And it's going to be the same with Peyton. Except I've got the nagging feeling that it might take a lot longer than it took for us."

"Well," she replied, taking a seat on his bed, "when you really think about it, we didn't get _really_ close again until this past year. So do you really think it will take five years, Luke?"

He gave her a look. "Yeah, but it didn't take us _five_ years to be friends again, Brooke. Anyway, you're off on a tangent. I guess what I'm just trying to say is, I just want to give her some space." He sat down next to her and looked at her expectantly, as if he was waiting for her to object.

"Okay, then," she said shrugging. "Do whatever you want to do."

"So are you supporting my decision?"

"I don't see why it really matters..."

"I just don't want to leave knowing you're mad at me or something. Peyton hating me is enough."

She chuckled lightly. "I'm not angry with you, Luke. And Peyton doesn't hate you. And I actually think you sort of have a point."

"Good," he said, smiling back at her.

"So, I'm assuming you've already talked to Haley and Nathan about this."

"Yeah..."

"And what did they think? About the breakup I mean? And you leaving, too, I guess," she added.

"Well, they both want what's best for me so they're pretty much supporting any decision I make. Haley's known something was up between me and Peyton for awhile now. She actually called me on it a couple nights ago. Nathan sensed something too, I think."

Brooke nodded. "It sounds like you've got everything covered, then," she said.

"Yup," he replied, looking down at his hands.

She didn't want to leave. The truth was she loved talking with Lucas. Any time she could spend with him she treasured. She was also pretty sure she wasn't too excited to go home and watch some more boring movies with Peyton. She'd watched enough today to last her a lifetime.

"What time is your flight?" she asked, trying to prolong the conversation.

"I've got to be at the airport by ten," he replied.

"So you've got a couple of hours to kill?"

"Yeah," he said, grinning as he looked down at her. "You want to hang out a little bit longer?"

"I want to," she sighed, "but I don't think I can. Haley's over with Peyton right now, but I don't think she can stay much longer. Plus I said I'd stop by the store."

"How's Peyton doing?"

"Pretty much the same."

He nodded. "I'm thinking about calling her in the next couple days. Just to check in. Let her know I still care."

"She knows you do, Lucas," Brooke said and she wrapped an arm around him, squeezing him in assurance. "She's just a little shocked is all."

"So are you gonna be okay telling her that I left?" he asked, resting his head on hers.

"I guess I kind of have to have to, don't I? I mean, you're leaving in a couple hours."

He sighed. "I know I'm kind of leaving a bunch of stuff on you right now, but there are a few things I was hoping you could do—,"

"Wedding stuff?" she asked, already anticipating his question.

"Yeah," he replied guiltily.

"Don't worry about. I'll take care of it."

"Thanks," he said, kissing her on top of her head. "You're an amazing friend, Brooke."

She smiled and slowly stood up, untangling herself from his arms. "Yeah, well, I should probably get going."

"I wish you didn't have to," he murmured, standing up with her.

She didn't know what to say to that so instead she pulled him into a long hug. "I'm gonna miss you, Lucas."

"I'm gonna miss you too, pretty girl."

She froze at the use of her old nickname. He hadn't called her that in five years. Since they'd been dating back in senior year, if she was remembering correctly. And it both freaked her out and made her insanely happy at the same time. She didn't know at all what to think of it. Had it been a slip of the tongue? Did he even realize he'd said it? Was he starting to get _those_ feelings for her again? The feelings she knew she was starting to have for him too?

No, she quickly decided, of course he wasn't. He hadn't felt that way about her for a long time. They were over. Just like he and Peyton, they weren't meant to be.

She couldn't dwell on it any longer, though, because he was pulling away from her and smiling that dazzling Lucas smile at her. She felt herself slowly melt at the sight of his piercing blue eyes gazing intently down at her. Her face moved subconsciously closer to his and she felt the sudden insatiable desire to feel her lips against his.

Was it her or was he moving closer too?

But then reality came smashing back at her. This was her best friend's ex-fiancé. They had just broken up yesterday. She should _not_ be trying to kiss him. She shouldn't even have any feelings for him other than that of a friend.

So she pulled away before she could do any damage.

"Um, I've gotta go. I'll, um, see you later." She said it quickly, not able to look him in the eye and turned away before quickly headed out the door, not able to look back at him or the thought of what could have happened.

**A/N: **Things are really getting interesting now, I think. Just a heads up, I'm going to be gone for the next few of days on vacation so I won't have much time to update, but I may be able to find some time. So hang in there for the next update!

Thanks for reading and remember to review!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Two Weeks Later**

Lucas lounged peacefully on the soft chair, his eyes closed underneath his sunglasses, enjoying the slow soothing motion of the rocking boat. The sun was high in the sky and felt warm against his skin and for the first time in months he finally felt relaxed.

"Enjoying the sun?"

Lucas smiled at the sound of his mother's voice. "More than you'd think," he replied, opening his eyes. She sat down next to him and grinned.

"I'm glad you came, Lucas. Despite the circumstances, I mean."

"I am too," he said. "I always love hanging out with Andy and Lily. And you too, I guess."

Karen hit him playfully. "Really, though, I just wanted to say that it's been great having you here."

"It's been nice…I just needed some time to relax," he said quietly. "To make some decisions about where I want to go in my life, you know?"

"Have you?"

He sighed. "I don't know. I'm having a really hard time figuring out the difference between what my _heart_ wants and my _mind_ wants … Do you know what I mean?"

"Kind of…You don't trust yourself to make your own decisions because you feel like whenever you do things get screwed up?"

He chuckled lightly. "Yeah, that's exactly what I mean. You see, the thing with Peyton was that I _chose_ her. I sat down, thought about it, went through the pros and cons of being with her and decided that she seemed like the logical choice. But I was wrong. And I just don't want to go through that again. I don't want to break another girl's heart."

"Lucas," Karen said, putting a hand on his knee comfortingly, "when you meet the girl you're going to spend the rest of your life with, you won't have to worry about making the logical choice. Everything will just work out."

"Like with you and Keith?"

She nodded slowly, a small smile on her lips. "Exactly. It took us eighteen years and he and I both went through relationships where we thought we'd found the one. But we finally found each other in the end. And even though he's not here anymore, he's always going to be that guy for me... But let's not go into that anymore. I'm a bit curious about something you said earlier."

"What?" he asked, looking at her curiously.

"You said you don't want to break another girl's heart."

"Yeah?" he shrugged, not really knowing where she was going with this.

"Lucas, is there another girl that you've thinking about during this time? Someone whose heart you don't want to break?"

He sighed heavily. Why did his mother have to be so observant?

"I'd rather not talk about that," he said, looking away from her.

"Is it Lindsay?"

"No. Definitely not."

"Good." He raised an eyebrow and laughed lightly at her blunt reply. "Not that I didn't like her," she continued, "but I just didn't know her as well as I did Peyton or Brooke."

She stopped suddenly and he practically groaned in annoyance. He did _not_ want to talk about what he knew he mother was about to say.

"Is it Brooke?" Her eyes were wide.

He rolled his eyes. "Mom, I _told_ you I don't want to talk about it."

Truth was, ever since he and Brooke's almost-kiss back in Tree Hill, she was _all_ he thought about. He had wanted so badly to kiss her that night, and they had come so close before she pulled away. But he wouldn't let his mother know all this.

"It is, isn't it?" she said, standing up and looking at him with a surprisingly joyful, almost proud, smile. "Oh, it is!" She brought him into a tight hug and he found himself struggling to catch his breath.

"You're choking me, Mom," he said, his face turning red at the force of her hug.

"Lucas," she said, pulling away and beaming at him, "you do realize that you and Brooke are perfect together, right?"

"I thought you were rooting for Peyton," he said, his eyes narrowed.

"I was rooting for whoever made you happy," she explained, "but now that I know it's not Peyton or Lindsay, I'm rooting for Brooke."

"But why?" he said, at a loss at his mother's logic.

"Because, despite the fact that it's been years since you were last together, you two always fit together so well. You both made each other better people. And then there's the fact that I lived with her for awhile and came to think of her as a daughter. I'd love to make that official."

"Mom!" he said, shoving her playfully. "I really can't see that happening, though" he added, turning somber once again. "I don't think she feels the same way about me." He thought of the almost-kiss again, how she had pulled away and walked out without looking back. No, she definitely didn't feel the same way.

Karen smiled sympathetically and pulled him into another, much shorter, hug. "Listen, do yourself a favor and try not to think about it too much. If it's meant to be, then it's meant to be. You don't need to rush anything. But, Lucas, I'll be honest with you, I _really_ think this is going to work out."

"Whatever you say, Mom," he sighed, hoping with all he had that she was right, "whatever you say."

* * *

"How're you doing, Peyton?" Brooke asked, flopping onto the couch. She had been at the shop most of the day and was glad to be home.

"I'm okay." Peyton was currently sitting on the floor, flipping through a pile of old CDs and sorting them into boxes.

"So I was thinking I'd order Chinese tonight. How does that sound?"

"Good," she murmured, not looking up from her project.

"What are you doing?" Brooke asked, trying to keep the conversation flowing. Peyton hadn't been too talkative during the past few weeks, something that was completely understandable.

"Just organizing some of my collection," she replied.

"Did you go to work today?"

"Yup."

"And how was it?"

"Pretty slow."

"Hmm. You know I think we should go out and do something fun tonight. Maybe go to Tric?"

"Nah," Peyton responded, "I'm not really up for that sort of thing tonight."

Brooke struggled to hold back a sigh. Peyton hadn't been 'up for that' every single night since the break up. Again, completely understandable, but still, Brooke was starting to get bored.

"Would you be up to visiting Haley and Nathan? I know Jamie has been wanting to spend some time with you."

"Not tonight…"

Suddenly she turned to look at Brooke, an odd look in her eyes. "So I've been doing some thinking."

"Yeah?" Brooke asked, sitting up, excited that Peyton had actually initiated a conversation.

"I think I'm gonna head up to New York for a couple of months."

Brooke paused, confused. Why would Peyton want to go to New York? She's got a business and friends and a life in Tree Hill. Not to mention the fact that New York wasn't really a place for 'healing' after a particularily tough break up.

"Why?" Brooke finally asked, kinking an eyebrow.

"Because Tree Hill isn't doing anything for me right now," she answered simply. "I figured it'd be a good place to get my mind off things."

"But, Peyton, what about your record company?"

"I can deal with it from there. Not much is going on right now, anyway. Besides, New York is a great place to look for some bands to sign. Listen, I've been thinking about it all week and I really think this is a good idea. I can go there for a few weeks, look into my options and then see what happens. It's not a permanent thing, Brooke."

She wasn't totally convinced. Peyton was taking a huge step and she was wondering if it was for the right reasons. Would Peyton even be able to get over Lucas when she was so far away from him? It didn't seem to be working right now and it definitely hadn't worked when she was back in LA after her and Lucas' first break up. But she appeared to be pretty dead set on it. And at least she seemed sort of excited about it. Maybe it would do her some good.

"Fine," Brooke finally said. "But I'm coming with you."

"Brooke," Peyton said, coming up to sit next to her on the couch, "you've got so much going on here. I mean, who'll look after your shop? Millicent's not here anymore to look after it while you're gone."

"I'll figure something out. Besides, you've got to find someone to look after _your_ company while you're gone. And Peyton, Clothes Over Bros headquarters is _in_ New York. I'll still be doing plenty of work. I've been needing to go up there for awhile now, actually."

"I just don't want you to feel like you have to take care of me," Peyton said. "I don't want to be a burden."

Brooke sighed and took Peyton's hand. "I'm you're best friend and I'm gonna be there for you no matter what you say. I love you, Peyton. And you're never a burden, okay? Now, I'm gonna go with you to New York and we're gonna live in my apartment there and everything's gonna be great."

"Thanks, Brooke," Peyton said, smiling for the first time in weeks. "For everything."

Brooke smiled and pulled her into a hug. "I'd do anything for you."

**A/N: **I'm back!!...at least for now ;D. I'm going to be leaving again in a few days to a place where I will have no computer access and I'll be gone for about a week. I'll try my best to get as much work done on this story as possible before I leave again, but in the mean time you all can leave me some reviews! Haha, anyway, I'm so sorry I haven't been able to respond to any of your reviews! Now that I'm back, I'm so busy it's not even funny and I've barely had time to get on the computer. So, instead I'll just thank you all for your amazing reviews!! They're all so encouraging and they really keep me motivated to keep on writing, especially with all the suckish Leyton spoilers going around. Anyway, thanks so much for reading and please remember to review!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Lucas Scott drove down the familiar road, eager to see all the people he had missed so much, and pulled into the driveway of his brother's home. He'd been gone for just over a month, but for some reason it had felt like much longer. Still, he was happy he had gone on the trip. It had been relaxing and it had been great getting to be a big brother to his sister and a son to his mother for the first time in a long time. Not to mention the fact that he was pretty sure he had finally found out exactly what his heart had been searching for all this time.

"Uncle Luke's home!"

Lucas laughed as Jamie came running down the driveway to greet him.

"Hey, J. Luke!" he said, picking him up and pulling him into a hug. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too, Uncle Luke. Momma said you were on a boat again. You were gone for a long time, just like last time."

"I know, buddy," he replied, "but I promise I won't be gone for that long again, okay?"

"So you've finally decided to grace us with your presence, huh?" Haley said, smiling widely as she eagerly hugged her best friend. "How was the trip?" she asked as they headed into the house.

"It was great, actually," he answered, setting Jamie on the ground once they'd reached the living room.

"Hey, big brother," Nathan said as he walked into the room. "How'd the soul searching go?"

Lucas grinned and patted his brother on the back. "Pretty good, little bro…It's great to be home, though." He looked around the room, a bit surprised that no one else was here. He had told Nathan and Haley a few nights ago that he would be home today and Nathan had said that he'd gather everyone up to greet him at their house. "Where is everybody?" he finally asked.

Nathan looked at him strangely, almost guiltily. "Well, Skillz should be stopping by pretty soon and Junk and Fergie are stopping by later on."

"That's it?"

"Well with Mouth gone there's not too many around here anymore…"

"What about Brooke and Peyton?" He had been looking forward to finally seeing Brooke again after him and his mother's interesting conversation. It had practically been all he had thought about.

"You didn't talk to Brooke?" Haley asked curiously.

"I was kind of out of reach most of the time," Lucas replied, starting to get a little worried. Had something happened to her while he was gone?

"She and Peyton are in New York," Nathan said, answering his question. "They've been there for over two weeks now."

"Oh," Lucas said, eyes narrowing in confusion, "when are they coming back?"

Nathan shrugged. "I don't know, to be honest."

Lucas was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Why did they go there?" he asked, trying to hide his frustration.

"Peyton just needed to get away for awhile," Haley said, "and of course Brooke went with her to watch out for her."

As horrible as he felt for it, Lucas was really starting to regret telling Brooke to take care of Peyton. He hadn't meant for her to follow Peyton wherever she went, and he certainly hadn't meant for her to move to New York with her, temporarily or not. But Brooke would have done it no matter what he said, he knew that. She was Brooke Davis, after all, the most caring, selfless person he knew.

"Hey, Lucas, you up for some hoops?"

He smiled and turned to Nathan. "Sure." Basketball was exactly what he needed right now.

* * *

Brooke trudged through the hallway of her apartment building and dug through her purse. Today had been a very long day. Things at work had been more stressful than she could ever remember it being and to top it all off, Victoria had randomly shown up asking for her job back. Of course Brooke refused, but her mother had not been very peaceful throughout the whole confrontation. And to top it all off, she was pretty sure she was getting a cold.

So when she entered her New York apartment she was not expecting to see what she did.

Sitting on the couch, next to Peyton, was her very troubled friend, Rachel Gatina. Brooke dropped her bag to the floor, staring at them in confusion. She didn't find it strange that Rachel was _in_ her apartment; she actually expected that during some time of her stay Rachel would seek her out. What she _was_ surprised about was the fact that both Peyton and Rachel appeared to be in a very animated discussion, to the point that they hadn't even noticed her walk in. Peyton and Rachel, the two who had never really gotten along, the two who almost hated each other for awhile, looked like two old friends catching up on each other's lives. It was just so weird for Brooke to take in.

"Um," she finally said, clearing her throat. "Hi?"

"Brooke!" Peyton said excitedly, jumping up from the couch. "Look who I found?"

"Yeah, I can see that," she replied, staring at the both apprehensively. "Hey, Rachel."

"Hi, Brooke," her redheaded friend replied, a guilty smile appearing on her face, and for good reason—the last time Brooke had seen her, she had stolen money from Brooke and fled Tree Hill.

"What exactly is going on?" Brooke asked.

"I ran into Rachel today at that Chinese restaurant over on 2nd Avenue," Peyton explained.

"I'm working there actually," Rachel added, smiling hesitantly. "It's not much, but it's a job, right?"

Brooke broke into a grin. Rachel was working. She was holding out on her own. "That's great, Rach."

"Anyway," Peyton continued, "we got to talking and I invited her over after her shift ended. I think you both have a lot to talk about." Peyton stood up quickly. "I'm gonna head out for a little while. There's this new band playing out at a club that I wanted to check out."

"Alright," Brooke murmured, taking a seat on the couch and watching her friend's back disappear into the hallway. Everything was silent. She and Rachel sat there, looking down at the ground uncertainly, not having any idea of what to say.

"Brooke…" Rachel began, breaking the silence. "I just want you to know how sorry I am about what happened back in Tree Hill."

She shrugged. "It's okay."

"No, it's not. I took advantage of you and it was wrong."

"Look, Rachel," Brooke said, putting a hand up, "you did what you did and it's done. You don't needed to apologize"

"Fine," Rachel sighed. "But can I at least explain?"

"If you really want to," Brooke replied, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"Victoria—,"

"Wait! Don't say another word. If Victoria had _anything_ to do with this then I can't blame you."

Rachel grinned, but shook her head. "Yeah, but even though your mom was the one who told me to take the money, I could've said no. But I didn't. I took it and left without a word. I'm a horrible friend, Brooke."

"No you're not," she said, coming over to sit next to Rachel and hugging her tightly. "You were just a little screwed up."

"Maybe, but it was still wrong. But I'm gonna pay you back, Brooke. Every cent."

"Rachel, I have more than enough money. I really don't need your help. If you really want to repay me then just make sure you keep your life on track. I mean, you seem to be doing well. You've got a job, after all."

"Yep," Rachel said proudly, "and my own apartment. The apartment pretty much sucks and so does the job, but I'm on my own and that's good enough. Not to mention the fact that I've been sober for six months now."

"Really?" Brooke said, beaming at her. "Oh, that's so great, Rach!" She hugged her again, practically squealing in excitement.

"Enough about me," Rachel said, pulling away from the hug, "what's been going on with you? You seemed pretty happy in Tree Hill, so why are you and Peyton both in New York?"

"Peyton didn't tell you?"

"Nope, we kind of just talked about the whole money thing and about how we used to hate each other. I didn't really want to get too personal with her. Especially since she seemed kind of off. I was pretty shocked that she even _talked _to me after all that had happened."

"Yeah," Brooke replied, making a face, "well a _lot_ has happened in the past few months. You'd better get comfortable, this is gonna be a long story."

* * *

"What's on your mind?" Nathan asked as Lucas stood in the middle of the River Court, staring blankly in front of him at nothing in particular.

"Nothing," he shrugged. "Why?"

"Because that's the fourth basket you've missed in a _row_, Luke. Something's obviously up."

He shrugged again and took the ball from Nathan, shooting it effortlessly into the hoop.

"I'm fine, Nate," he said.

"Come on, man, we both know that's not true."

Lucas groaned. Why couldn't anyone just leave him alone? All he wanted was to a play a friendly game of basketball with his brother, _not_ talk about his private life. There was really no use trying to deny that something was going on, though, so he gave in, trying to give away as little information as possible.

"I've just had a lot of stuff on my mind, stuff that I guess you could say I've finally come to terms with."

"Like what?" Nathan looked sincerely curious, but Lucas wasn't ready to share all the details.

"Just life…love, that sort of stuff."

"So you dealt with the whole Peyton thing?"

"Yeah, of course I did. That's kind of one the main reasons I went. I just…I got closure on it, really. I'm at the point in my life where I'm just gonna wait and see what happens. I don't need to rush into anything. At the same time, I'm pretty sure I've found what I've needed all this time."

"Yeah? And what's that?"

Lucas smiled and shook his head. "You'll probably find out sometime soon, but I'm not sure I want to jinx it."

Nathan laughed. "I don't think you're gonna jinx anything, Luke. Look, whoever this _girl _— because we both know that this involves your love life— is that you think you've finally found, you need to fight for her. She isn't gonna always be there, just waiting for things to fall into place."

Lucas sighed and sat over on the benches, Nathan quickly joining him. "I'm not sure that makes me feel much better, Nathan."

"What can I say," Nathan replied grinning, "life isn't always going to be easy, bro. Now, let me ask you one more thing: who is this girl?"

Lucas laughed and stood up, heading towards the car. "I told you you'd find out eventually."

"Is it Brooke?"

Lucas stopped dead in his tracks. "How'd you know?"

"I just kind of figured," Nathan said, coming up behind him. "You're obviously not into Peyton anymore and you've been over Lindsay for awhile now. It just seems like Brooke was the only one left who could…I don't know, fulfill you, I guess. Besides, she and you have been really close lately. If you hadn't been with Peyton I would have bet on you two getting back together by the end of the year. Now, it looks like that just might happen."

"I'm not sure about that," he replied chuckling, "but hopefully someday. I just don't know if she feels the same way."

"Knowing Brooke, she does," his brother said, patting him on the back. "You two have been practically joined at the hip these past few months. You were spending more time with her than you were with Peyton, your own fiancée. So I'm pretty sure she's still into you, man, you just gotta trust me on that."

* * *

"So let me get this straight, Lucas asked Peyton to marry him in Vegas, they end up getting engaged instead. They come home to Tree Hill and plan the wedding and all that stuff, and then their relationship becomes strained. Lucas realizes he's not in love with her and then he breaks up with her ...and you two _almost _kiss only a day after that… And then you and Peyton decided to move to New York temporarily to help her get over him. Is that all right?"

Brooke shrugged. "In a nutshell, yeah."

"Wow," Rachel said, sighing exaggeratingly. "Your life is like a soap opera."

"Yeah," she replied, chuckling lightly, "right now it kind of is. But I am _begging _you not to tell Peyton about that kiss thing. She cannot know about that. Can you imagine what she'd think of me? If I had kissed him…God, I'd have been such a hypocrite."

"Relax, Brooke, I won't tell her. But Peyton can't really get mad at you, can she? I mean, he's not her man anymore. And it's not like Lucas and Peyton didn't get together soon after you both broke up in senior year."

"Hence the line about being a hypocrite, Rachel," Brooke sighed, putting her head in her hands. "This situation is worse, though. Back then, I basically gave Lucas my blessing to date Peyton. I doubt Peyton will do that for me now. Not that I _want_ to date, Lucas… I just meant that if I did, Peyton wouldn't give me her permission, at least right now."

Rachel shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Brooke, we both know that you _do_ want to date Lucas, don't try to hide it."

"I do not!" Brooke cried, glaring at her friend. It was partly true—she would not date Lucas when he had just broken up with Peyton. She could never do that to Peyton. But, all the Peyton stuff aside, she'd take Lucas back in a second. She had had time to digest the almost-kiss incident and had grudgingly decided that her feelings were real, that she still cared about him the way she used to, and even that she might have never really gotten over him. After all, she hadn't seriously dated since they broke up in high school. She had never been in love with any guy but him.

Sure, she had thought that she might have been in love with Chase, but she quickly dismissed that idea after gradation and she and Chase broke up shortly after. Truthfully, she just couldn't give all of herself to just anyone and Lucas had been the only guy she had ever given it all up for. And she'd do it all over again if she could. But she couldn't. Especially since she knew he didn't feel the same way about her.

"Let's not talk about this right now, Rachel," she said weakly, rubbing her forehead; this whole thing was giving her a headache.

"Fine," Rachel replied shrugging, "but sooner or later you know that you know this issue's gonna come up again, so you might as well deal with it now and figure out your feelings."

"I _have _done that, thank you very much. And for your information, I don't have anything else to figure out."

"Well that's great." Rachel grinned widely at her. "So what'd you figure out?"

Brooke glared at her. "It doesn't matter. Just leave it."

Rachel laughed and shook her head. "You're so in love with him. You can't deny it."

"Oh, yes I can! I got over Lucas a long time ago, Rachel, and I've come to terms with the fact that we're not meant to be."

But Rachel wouldn't give up. "Did I ever tell you about that night when Lucas and I went out for the fantasy draft?"

Brooke groaned. She did _not_ want to think about that horrible night. "Will you _please _just let it go?"

The redhead ignored her. "We were at the River Court and Lucas was acting all head over heels for you— it was extremely annoying. He kept on going on and on about how you were the one for him, so I blindfolded him and placed him in front of the basketball hoop and told him that if he made the basket then you were the one for him. Do you think he made the basket, Brooke?" She paused dramatically but didn't let her answer. "He did. And that's why I'm convinced you two will end up together in the end."

Brooke looked at her blankly. "That was more than five years ago, Rachel, a lot has changed since then."

"Yeah," she said, shrugging, "but when two people are meant to be together they'll eventually find their way back to each other in the end, right?"

"People who are meant to be always find their way in the end," Brooke murmured. She had said that so long ago, yet she wasn't sure she believed it anymore. "Look, Rachel, I'm not saying that Lucas and I aren't meant to be, but I'm not gonna dwell on him or my feelings for him right now. I can't. I could _never_ do that to Peyton."

Rachel nodded. "I understand that, Brooke. I just wanted you to really think about this. I only want what best for you."

Brooke smiled and pulled her into a hug. "I know. Thanks, Rach."

"No problem," she replied, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Hey, you know how you said your apartment sucked?" Brooke asked, an idea forming in her head.

"Yeah?"

"Maybe you should move in with me and Peyton for awhile. I mean it looks like we're gonna be here for awhile and I think you might be helpful in helping Peyton get over Lucas."

"I am great at that sort of thing," Rachel said jokingly. "But do really want me to live with you, Brooke? I don't want you to think I depend on you, because I really don't—,"

"I really do, Rachel," she replied sincerely.

Rachel nodded slowly and smiled. "Then I accept your offer. And I promise there will be no stealing of money and no taking of drugs."

Brooke laughed. "Sounds good."

"Is that your phone?" Rachel asked suddenly, pointing to Brooke's purse, where an almost unnoticeable vibrating sound was coming from.

"Good hearing," Brooke muttered, reaching into her bag and pulling out her cell phone. It was the shop back in Tree Hill.

"Hello?" Brooke answered.

"Brooke? It's Jenna." Jenna, the girl Brooke had put in charge of her store while she was gone, sounded extremely panicked. "I'm so sorry to bother you but things are kind of crazy here. I'm trying to handle everything but I've never managed a store before and I messed up some of the orders and the cash register is being weird and Rebecca keeps on showing up late and—,"

"Whoa," Brooke said calmly, "slow down, Jenna."

"I'm so sorry, Brooke," Jenna said weakly, "I was gonna call you last week but I thought I could handle it and I knew that you had a lot of important things going on up in New York, but now I realized that I can't handle it and I really need your help."

"It's okay," Brooke replied sincerely. She had felt bad leaving Jenna in charge of the store when she had had such little experience managing, but she had no other choice. It would have been ideal to have Millicent working there, but she had moved to Omaha to be with Mouth. She knew that Haley helped Jenna out as much as possible, but obviously it wasn't enough; she needed to go back to Tree Hill and help her out.

"I'm gonna come down for a few days and help you out, okay?" Brooke said, trying her best to comfort the young girl.

"Thanks, Brooke," Jenna replied in relief. "And, again, I'm so sorry about all this."

"It's really okay, Jenna. Why don't you call Haley and ask her to help you out for the rest of the day. I'll be down there as soon as I can."

Brooke hung up quickly and headed to her room, ignoring Rachel's questioning stares. She pulled out her suitcase and began throwing her clothes into it.

"I've got to go to Tree Hill for a couple of days," she said when she heard Rachel come up behind her. "The girl I chose to manage the store while I'm gone is having a really tough time so I've got to help her out."

"What about Peyton?"

Brooke paused and looked down at her pile of clothes. "Well, since you're living here now you can stay with her. It's just for a couple of days. She's not ready to come back to Tree Hill anyway."

"So does that mean you're gonna see Lucas?" Rachel asked, sitting down on her bed.

"Unless he's still with his mom, then yeah, probably," she replied casually.

"Hmm, interesting."

"Rachel, we are so not getting into this conversation again," Brooke said, glaring at her.

Rachel laughed. "Relax, I won't bring it up. But you have to admit that this is gonna be a great opportunity—,"

"Rachel!" Brooke said, pointing a finger at her. "What did I just say?"

"Fine, fine," Rachel sighed. "But think about what I said."

Brooke rolled her eyes, but nodded. She was sure that Rachel's comments would be fresh in her mind when she returned home and finally faced the man she had been hiding from.

**A/N: **Sorry it took me so long! I hope this chapter satisfied you all…it might be the last time I can update before I leave. But you never know, I might be able to do it one more time. Anyway, be sure to drop a review and let me know what you think (and thank you so much to all those who have been reviewing!!).


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Brooke hurried through the airport exit and walked outside into the warm North Carolina air. She had caught a plane earlier that morning and it was now noon, which meant she would have plenty of time to help Jenna out at the shop.

"Brooke!"

She turned quickly at the familiar voice and smiled. "Hi Tutor mom!" she said, heading towards where Haley was waiting in her car. "Thanks for picking me up."

"No problem," Haley replied, getting out and opening the trunk of her SUV and helping her put in her bags. Soon they were both back in the car heading towards Tree Hill.

"How long to you think you're gonna be here?" Haley asked.

Brooke shrugged. "I don't know for sure yet. No less than a couple of days but no longer than a week. So, how bad is everything?"

"It could be a lot worse," Haley said and Brooke sighed in relief. "Jenna's so young; she's just barely out of high school, so she's just a little overwhelmed. But she's doing a good job with what she's been given. I've been trying to help out as much as possible but with school and Nathan and Jamie, not to mention helping look after Peyton's studio, I've got a lot to do. I've only really been able to be there a couple of hours a week."

Brooke smiled sympathetically. "I feel so bad for asking all of this of you. You've already got so much going on and I've only been adding to the stress. Listen, when I leave don't worry about helping out at the shop. I'll just have to hire a few more people and everything should be alright, okay?"

"Brooke, it's really okay," Haley said sincerely. "I just wish I could help out more."

"You're an amazing friend, Hales," Brooke replied, feeling guilty for all that she'd put her through the past few weeks, "but I insist you take a break. You need to spend more time with Nathan and Jamie and I won't take you away from that anymore."

Haley laughed and nodded her head slowly. "If that's what you want, I'll try to take a break."

Brooke smiled and turned her head to stare out the window, sitting in a comfortable silence. During the plane ride Brooke had been so caught up in thinking about the work situation in Tree Hill that she'd barely had time to think about Lucas. She wanted to ask Haley if he was back, but for some reason she was hesitant. She had been planning on avoiding him as much as possible if he was home, but she knew that'd be next to impossible because, as much as she hated to admit it, she missed him like crazy. She wondered how she had been able to live the four long years after high school with him barely in her life. The thought of him not in her life seemed totally crazy now. She wondered if he missed her too. The answer was most likely yes, just probably not as much as she missed him, but she figured that he must miss her because their friendship definitely wasn't one sided.

"What's on your mind?"

She turned to look at Haley and smiled sheepishly. "Just the whole work thing," she lied. "Hey, did I tell you that Rachel's moving into my apartment?" It was time to change the subject before she mentioned the man she wasn't ready to talk about.

Haley looked at her in surprise before quickly frowning. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Brooke?" she asked disapprovingly. "What about the whole drugs and stealing thing?"

"We talked about it and I really think she's gonna do good. She's been clean for awhile now and she has a job and her own apartment. She didn't need a place to live, but I asked her anyway. I think I could watch out for her, you know? Make sure she doesn't go back to her old ways. Plus, she and Peyton actually seem to be getting along. I think it's because both of their lives are kind of screwed up right now so they've both got a lot in common. Anyway, I think they'd be a good support system for each other."

Haley didn't look convinced. "Are you really sure about this?"

"Yeah," Brooke said and she was telling the truth. She really thought that Rachel was heading in the right direction, that she was finally doing something good in her life.

"If you say so," Haley replied, sighing heavily. "So…how's Peyton doing?"

Brooke shrugged. "She's hanging in there. She's kind of doing everything she can to distract herself. She's been going out to clubs almost every night, which isn't exactly a great thing—she's been drinking a ton and I've even caught her making out with random guys a couple of times, which is totally out of character for her. We're gonna have to work on that. But despite that, I really think she's on the road to recovery. We've talked about Lucas a lot, actually, and she seems to be handling it better every time."

"How much longer do you think you'll be there?"

"A few more months probably," Brooke sighed. She knew that being back in Tree Hill was going to make her not want to leave and she found herself wishing that she wouldn't have to be in New York for much longer. Mostly because there was no Lucas Scott in New York.

"That kind of sucks," Haley said, smiling weakly at her. "We all miss you both. It's not the same here without you. And Jamie's been dying to see you. I swear he didn't sleep at all last night; he was so exciting that you would be coming home."

"I've missed him," Brooke said, smiling at the thought of her godson. She regretted that she hadn't been in his life lately, especially since she had promised herself that she would always be involved in his life when she had returned to Tree Hill last year. "I've missed everyone," she added, thinking of Lucas, Nathan, Haley and the others.

"Lucas has been asking about you actually," Haley said and Brooke's heart skipped a beat—he _was_ home.

"Yeah?" she said as casually as possible. "When did he get home?"

"Yesterday afternoon, actually," Haley responded, "but he was really curious about why you left. I think he was really disappointed that he didn't get to see you right away."

Brooke smiled lightly, trying to ignore the nervous fluttering in her stomach that had formed when Haley had mentioned that he was disappointed about not be able to see her. "Does he know I'm back?" she asked quietly.

Haley nodded. "I called him this morning and told him. He seemed excited."

Brooke grinned. "Who wouldn't be excited to see me?" she joked. She was ready to turn the conversation away from Lucas; she didn't want Haley to become suspicious.

"I know, right?" Haley laughed as she pulled in front of Brooke's house. "So, I'm guessing you're spending most of the day at your store, but do you think you could make it to my house for dinner tonight? Everyone will want to see you and Lucas will be there."

"Definitely," Brooke replied, stepping out of the car. She couldn't deny Haley's offer, not when everyone wanted to see her. She'd just have to deal with Lucas sooner than she'd thought she would. "What time?"

"Around 7, I guess. Or as soon as you can get there, it doesn't really matter."

"Sounds great," she said, hugging Haley tightly before heading into her house. "Thanks again for everything!"

"It was no problem," her friend responded, waving as she drove away.

Brooke practically collapsed onto the couch once she made it inside. She would be seeing Lucas tonight. The thought made her both excited and nervous at the same time. She wondered if he'd want to talk about the kissing incident or if he'd even really cared enough about it to bring it up again. She knew one thing, though—if he didn't bring it up she definitely wouldn't.

She slowly stood up, knowing she had to get down to the shop as soon as possible and headed back outside, wondering what the day had in store for her.

* * *

She sat in her car for what seemed like forever, but in reality it had only been a few painstaking minutes. He was in there, waiting to see her, and she was more nervous than she'd ever remembered being. Why did he have to make her feel this way? It made her angry to think that a boy could have such a hold on her, control her in ways that she would never be controlled otherwise. Lucas was the only guy that ever did that to her, she knew that, and only a few months ago she had thought those feelings for him were gone for good. But apparently, they weren't; they had only been in hiding.

"Aunt Brooke!"

She couldn't ponder over Lucas any longer; Jamie had appeared at her car door and was doing the best he could with his short little body to knock on her window. She grinned and quickly opened the door.

"Hi Jamie!" she cried, bending towards the ground and pulling him into a hug. She hadn't realized how much she missed him until she actually held him in her arms. "How are you doing, buddy?"

"I've missed you," he said, smiling widely at her.

She melted at the sight of his adorable little grin and kissed his cheek. "I've missed you too, Jamie. Oh, it's so good to see you!"

"Hey Brooke," Nathan said, grinning as he stood at the front door. "Come on in."

Brooke set Jamie on the ground and took his hand gently, letting him lead her into the house. It was half past six—she had gotten out of work earlier than she expected—and she wasn't sure if Lucas would be there yet since she hadn't seen his car. She hoped he wasn't; she wanted some time to spend with Jamie without being under Lucas' penetrating gaze.

"Brooke, you're early!" Haley said cheerfully as she stepped into the kitchen. Thankfully there had been no sign of Lucas.

"Yep, I was able to get away from the shop sooner than I thought I would."

"How'd everything go?"

"It was a bit chaotic, to be honest," she replied, picking out a cucumber from the salad Haley was making, "but I think everything should be okay after a few days. I decided that I'm definitely going to hire someone before I leave, which shouldn't take too long."

"You're leaving again?"

Brooke's heart broke at the sound of Jamie's sad voice. He was standing behind her looking up at her with a frown.

"Just for a little while longer, buddy," she said, crouching down to his level and looking at him straight in the eye. "I've just got a few more things to take care of, okay? I promise I won't be gone much longer. But I'll be here for the next few days and we can spend plenty of time together. Maybe I can even take you to that zoo you're always talking about."

His frown turned into a huge smile. "Yeah!"

She knew that finding much time to spend with Jamie during her stay was going to be hard, but she was going to try her best to find the time to be with him. She had missed him more than she thought she had and she knew that she needed to spend some quality time with her godson.

"Uncle Luke's here!" Jamie said suddenly as they all heard the front door open.

Brooke exhaled deeply and plastered on the best smile she could. This was it. She was still nervous, but the excitement of seeing him again seemed to be overpowering it and suddenly she was very eager to see his face.

She followed Jamie into the living room and her smile grew even larger once she saw him.

He was standing by the couch, Jamie in his arms, laughing at something Nathan had said. He didn't seem to notice her at first, but Jamie quickly pointed out her appearance.

"Look Uncle Luke, Aunt Brooke's back!"

His smile stretched from ear to ear as he turned to look at her and her heart nearly stopped at the sight of him. He looked so incredibly happy to see her that that it was almost overwhelming. He shouldn't be looking at her like that, should he?

"Brooke," he said quietly, gently setting Jamie down and walking slowly over to her. She stood there, frozen as she beamed at him. She hadn't been prepared for how _happy_ she was to see him. It almost felt wrong to be so full of joy at just the sight of him.

"Hi Luke," she finally said, walking a few feet to meet him. He pulled her into a tight embrace, holding her close to him. She rested her head on his chest, the smile never leaving her face. Yes, she hadn't expected how happy she was to see him, but at the same time she hadn't expected how _easy_ it was, even after everything that had happened.

As she pulled away and looked into his eyes she saw no awkwardness. She only saw pure joy—the joy of seeing the one person who makes you feels whole. The look kind of freaked her out because she knew she was looking at him the same way.

"It's been awhile," Brooke said, breaking the silence as she noticed Nathan staring at them both with a huge smile.

"Too long," he replied as she pulled away. He didn't seem very eager to let go of her, but she knew that Nathan would think something was going on between them if they kept this up and she wouldn't let that happen.

"So how have you been?" she asked. She sat down on the couch trying to look as casual as possible and he sat down next to her, sitting closer than she would have thought necessary. She didn't mind at all, though.

"Pretty good," he said, still grinning at her. "But it's great to be home. I have to admit, though, I was kind of surprised when Haley told me you and Peyton were in New York."

"Yeah," Brooke said guiltily, "it was all Peyton's doing actually. She thinks she'll have a better time getting over you there, so I'm not gonna argue with her, you know?"

"Yeah, of course…How's she doing?"

"A lot better," Brooke replied. "She's still kind of messed up but I think she's finally coming to terms with the whole thing… I think she's known for awhile now that you two weren't meant to be together, now she just has to really get over you and the idea of what could have been, you know what I mean?"

He nodded. "I'm glad she's doing okay, though. So…are you going to be heading back to New York any time soon?"

"I'm only gonna be here for a few days, actually," she said, smiling guiltily. His smiled turned into a frown and she couldn't help but be happy at his reaction; he obviously didn't want to see her go.

"That sucks," he said, his eyes narrowing.

Brooke chuckled. "Yeah, that's pretty much what Haley said."

"I guess we'll just have to make the best of our time together," he whispered, his voice low and gentle. He was so close to her now; his legs brushed against hers and his hand was on her knee in what she assumed was a friendly gesture, but what she _hoped_ was anything but. He was looking directly into her eyes, his gaze soft and sincere, and she found that she couldn't look away. Her heart was beating like crazy and she felt like her throat was closing up. And underneath all those other feelings, she felt an overwhelming desire to pull closer to him, just like she had in his bedroom the night before he left.

But she fought against it with more strength than she thought she had. She broke contact, her heart thumping wildly in her chest, and looked around the living room, noticing for the first time that no one else was with them. She heard Haley in the kitchen and glanced out the window to see Nathan out by the pool with Jamie.

They were alone.

If she kissed him right now, no one would see it. She quickly dismissed that idea, though. She wouldn't go against what she'd decided back in New York—she couldn't do that to Peyton.

He was looking at her oddly when she turned to look at him again. It was almost like he felt the same way she did, like he was trying to fight the urge to feel her lips on his, to be near her, to touch her in the way he shouldn't be touching her.

She quickly decided she couldn't be alone with him much longer without losing control and so she stood up and looked towards the kitchen.

"I'm gonna go see if Haley needs any help," she said, her voice low and raspy as she left before waiting for his reply. She shook her head, trying to rid her mind of the idea of being alone with Lucas in his bedroom, their lips coming closer and closer until finally meeting each other in a searing kiss.

She practically groaned at the thought; she should _not_ be thinking like that.

"What up with you?" Haley asked when she entered the kitchen.

Brooke glared at her. "Everything's just so damn frustrating!" she blurted out. After having only Rachel to give her advice on the whole Lucas ordeal, she suddenly felt the urge to Haley everything. This was Haley after all, the girl who always came up with the best, most logical solutions; surely she could help Brooke out with this situation.

Then she came flying back to reality and realized that Lucas was right in the next room. There was no way she and Haley could have this discussion right now.

"What's frustrating?" Haley asked curiously, her attention solely on Brooke.

Brooke sighed, angry that she couldn't talk to Haley about it and even angrier about the fact that she _knew_ she wouldn't want to tell Haley about it at a later date. She needed to be keep silent on the subject. Rachel knowing was enough. "Nothing. Never mind. I…I have to use the restroom, excuse me…" She walked away without a second glance, tired of hiding from her feelings and stalked up to the bathroom.

Brooke glared at herself in the mirror, silently scolding herself for feeling the way she did about Lucas. If this is what five minutes with him could do to her, she wondered how she was going to be able to survive the rest of her time in Tree Hill.

**A/N: **So, I was able to finish this chapter before I leave! But unfortunately that means this is the last chapter until I get back. I believe I'll be getting home on Friday night, possibly Saturday morning, and I will try to work as fast as I can on the next chapter. I've got basically everything planned out already for the whole story, so it shouldn't be too hard.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! You never know, maybe if you guys leave me a lot of reviews when I get back I'll write super fast…just a suggestion ;D


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I'm back! Sorry for the wait, but I think you're going to _really_ going to love this chapter...**

**Chapter 9**

This was beyond frustrating.

Lucas was sitting right next to Brooke in Nathan and Haley's living room, his hands sitting firmly on his lap, trying his best to force himself from moving any closer to her. It wasn't too hard considering Jamie had just perched himself between them both. He practically sighed in relief.

Their little moment alone earlier had proven to be more than he could handle. All that time away from her had made him long to feel her touch, to be close to her in a way that he knew he shouldn't be. He had thought he could better control himself, but apparently his self-control wasn't as strong as he had thought.

She must have thought he was crazy, at least by the way he had been acting towards her. But a part of him noticed that she seemed just as eager to be close to him as he did to her.

"What do think about that, Lucas?" Haley said, breaking him out of his thoughts

He looked around the room quickly and then focused on Haley. "Huh?" he asked, squinting at her.

"Lucas Scott, I swear you are never listening these days," Haley said, smiling lightly as she pointed over to Jamie. "Your nephew wants you to take him to the zoo this week."

"Oh," Lucas said, grinning as he looked down at Jamie, "sure thing, buddy. How does tomorrow sound?"

"Can _you_ go tomorrow?" Jamie said, turning suddenly to Brooke.

Lucas looked away quickly, trying to avoid everyone's gaze. He hadn't known Brooke would be coming, but then again he probably should have expected it with her in town. The idea of him and Brooke spending a day together with Jamie was enticing and he knew that with Jamie there, very little could happen, so he didn't know if this trip to the zoo could be a good thing or a bad thing.

"I don't think I can go tomorrow, actually," Brooke replied and she glanced over at Lucas. "I'm going to be pretty busy most of the week. Maybe you two should go without me."

Lucas couldn't hide the disappointment that covered his face, but before he could say anything Haley interrupted.

"Jamie's been dying to spend time with _both_ of his godparents. We'll figure out a good time for you to take him. Brooke you'll probably need the next couple of days to work at the shop, so how does Saturday sound?"

"I think I can probably work something out," Brooke said, smiling down at Jamie.

"Yes!" Jamie said excitedly. "I can't wait, can you, Uncle Luke?"

"Nope," Lucas replied, and he really couldn't. He looked quickly over at Brooke, who was staring at him with a small grin on her face. He smiled back at her and sighed. Saturday couldn't come fast enough.

* * *

Brooke practically passed out on her bed when she returned home from dinner that night. The night had seemed to drag on forever and, after her little mini-breakdown in Haley's bathroom, she had been eager to go home and get to bed. She blamed her lack of self-control on having had little sleep during the past few days, even though she was pretty sure that had little to do with it.

Throughout the whole night it had seemed like Lucas had wanted to talk to her about something, yet he never pulled her aside. She wondered if she had freaked him out back in the living room when he had first arrived. Honestly, she wouldn't blame him if he was; she had acted much too skittish around him for her liking. She had tried to act as calm as possible, trying desperately not to be too close to him, but obviously that didn't work.

And now she was going to have to spend a _whole_ day with Lucas, with only Jamie to prevent them from doing anything stupid. She didn't know if she would be able to handle it, but, for the sake of her godson, she would.

But, despite all that, she knew that she was looking forward to Saturday _way_ more than she should have been.

* * *

He wanted so badly to knock on her door. It was here, right in front of him, and she was behind it somewhere. And he wanted to see her, but he knew that he shouldn't. His actions at Nathan and Haley's had apparently made her a bit weary around him, if her attempts at avoiding him the rest of the night had anything to do with it.

The thing was, after a few hours of laying awake in bed and thinking about nothing but her face, Lucas _knew_ he needed to tell her how he felt. He couldn't hold back his feelings anymore. So, before he could change his mind, he had driven to Brooke's house, one thing on his mind. He was going to tell her.

But now, standing at her door, he had to rethink his decision. He had only broken up with Peyton a month ago and he didn't think Peyton _or_ Brooke would appreciate him moving so fast. Plus, there was a great chance that Brooke didn't feel the same way. If he knocked on the door, he knew he would be risking their friendship and he couldn't stand losing that.

So he reluctantly turned away, knowing that he couldn't do this to her right now.

But then the front lights came on and the door opened and Brooke was standing there, a spatula in her raised hand, in nothing but a short pair of shorts and a white tank top. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of her in front of him, squinting at him with a confused expression and the spatula raised in a defensive mode.

"Oh," she murmured and she lowered the spatula, realizing that it was just him. "It's you. I heard a noise and thought it was a robber or something."

He laughed and shook his head. "And you were gonna attack him with a _spatula_?"

She looked down at her weapon of choice and and glared at him playfully. "Hey, I was freaked out. I just grabbed the first thing I saw."

"I'm sorry I freaked you out," he said, unable to keep the grin from forming on his face. She was just so cute was she was annoyed.

She shugged. "It's okay. Just don't do it again," she added, smiling lightly.

Lucas looked at her, in her disheveled state, and admired her beauty. Brooke was the type of girl who didn't need anything—no make up, no fancy clothes—to make her look insanely beautiful. It was just always so natural for her. It was one of the many qualities he loved about her.

"So, what are you doing here?"

"Um," he said, shrugging, "I guess I just wanted to…uh…I actually really don't know." He chuckled and grinned weakly back at her, all the while desperately hoping she wouldn't invite him inside because if she did he knew he wouldn't be able to resist her offer... And then he wouldn't be able to hold back telling her what he had really come here to do.

"Interesting…" she said, laughling lightly. He couldn't keep his eyes from her smiling face. They were only a few feet apart, but he felt like if he moved any closer he'd tell her everything. _Please don't ask me to come in_, he begged to himself, which was obviously useless.

"Well, I think you should come in." Her voice was soft as she took a step closer to him.

His throat noticeably tightened and he took a deep breath. Of course she would do the very opposite of what he wanted. It's like she read his mind and asked him just what he didn't want to hear. He knew he could refuse, but in his mind the deed was done: she asked something of him and he would do it.

"Okay…"

He followed her through the door and into her house, knowing that this was it—he was going to do it. His whole life was going to change tonight, but whether if would be for the better or for the worse, he didn't know.

* * *

She wasn't sure why she asked him to come in; after all, she had spent the most of the night trying to avoid him. But for some reason she just couldn't resist him. He was her biggest weakness.

There was one thing she did know, though: she would do something incredibly stupid if she wasn't careful. She was going to have to try her hardest to contain her emotions around him. She absolutely could _not_ risk another almost-kiss, or better yet, an actual kiss. It just couldn't happen and she wouldn't let it. She got her self into this, and she was going to try her hardest to get out of it as cleanly as possible.

"Do you want a drink?" she asked as they both sat down on her couch, him on one end and her on the other.

"I'm good, thanks," he replied, his arm stretching casually across the back of the sofa. Her eyes traveled to his hand, only a few inches from herace and she felt her resolve slowly begin to crumble.

It was quiet for a moment, both of them lost in their own thoughts, before Lucas spoke again. "We didn't get much of a chance to talk tonight," he murmured, scooting closer to her. She tried to move further back, but the arm of the couch wouldn't let her. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest.

"I missed you, Brooke," he said quietly. The hand that was resting on the back of the couch suddenly moved towards her face and she exhaled sharply when it rested on the back of her head. "I really, _really_ missed you."

She smiled hesitantly. "I missed you too, Luke. A lot, actually."

His smile grew as he moved even closer to her. Now they were only inches apart, his hand still on the back of her head, slowly stringing his fingers through her hair. She didn't have much resolve left and judging by where the conversation was surely headed she was pretty sure she was screwed.

"Brooke," he said, putting his other hand on her knee and she was pretty sure that she visibly gulped, "I did a lot of thinking when I was out sailing with my mom and I came to a pretty important conclusion."

"Yeah?" Her voice sounded strained as she tried her best to sound as calm and collected as possible.

He nodded and looked straight into her eyes. The hand that was running through her hair moved to her face and he slowly cupped her cheek.

For a guy that she knew didn't have _those_ types of feelings for her, Lucas sure wasn't touching her in a simple, friendly way. This was more. There was a spark there that hadn't always been there. At least not for a few years, that is. It had been there once, when they had been together and in love. But he wasn't in love with her now…was he? She didn't know if she was absolutely sure anymore and, when he moved even closer to her, his face only a few inches from her, she had the strange feeling that she was about to find out.

"I really don't know how else to say it, so I just will," he said. She suddenly felt his hand grasp hers and she took a slow, steady breathe, allowing his thumb to gently graze her knuckles. "I'm in love with you, Brooke."

She was pretty sure that her heart stopped in that moment. There was no explanation for what those words did to her. There was joy; joy at knowing that he truly did have feelings for her, that he loved her the way she loved him and, after all these years, they still might end up together. There was also fear; fear at the huge change this would bring in her life and fear that she could lose the amazing friendship she had formed with him, not to mention her friendship with Peyton. And then there was a deep sadness; sadness in knowing that she and him just wouldn't work. At least not right now.

But she needed him to know that she felt the same way, even if they couldn't be together right now.

"Luke," she began and she felt the tears forming in her eyes. Not sad tears, though; these were happy tears.

"Brooke," he said, cutting her off, "I know this may come as a shock to you, I mean it's been five years, but I don't think I've every really gotten over you. Back in senior year everyone, including you, was telling me it was Peyton—she was the girl I was meant to be with. So I let myself believe that, and when she said no to my proposal I let her go. I got over her. And then I met Lindsay and she was great, but the whole thing kind of turned into a mess. And then I asked Peyton to marry me again, but I never had this firm, unwavering faith in my heart that she was the one I was meant to be with. I never had that faith until now, with you. It's real, Brooke. They way I feel about you is real and it's amazing and I've never felt this way about anyone else. I love you, Brooke. You're the one for me… And I don't know if you feel the same way but…"

He looked at her helplessly, obviously not knowing what else to say to convince her of his feelings. Tears streamed down her cheek, but she didn't care. He was in love with her and that was all she needed to know.

"Lucas," she said as he wiped away her tears with his hands and waited patiently for her to respond. His gaze held hers and his grip tightened on her hand. "I…I love you, too. I'm _in_ love with you."

His mouth stretched into possibly one of the biggest smiles she had ever seen on him and she knew she didn't need to say anything else. And suddenly his lips were on hers and he was kissing her like no time before. He wrapped his arms around her and her hands ran through his short blonde hair.

She couldn't stop. The feel of his lips against hers, his hands running gently along her back, it was almost too much for her. But she knew she wanted him now more than ever. Her mind briefly flashed towards Peyton, but she pushed it aside, letting the feel of him against her take her away from reality. His hands were pulling furiously at her shirt and she let him take it off before quickly pulling off his own shirt. She fell back on the couch and he fell on top of her, their lips never leaving each other.

They were moving too fast, she knew that, but for some reason it just felt so right that there was no way to stop it.

"Mmm… not here," she murmured against his neck as he traced a line of kisses along her face and neck. He paused for a brief second. "Bedroom," she continued. He smiled and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he walked carelessly towards her room.

And then she was on the bed and he was on top of her. He was looking down at her, still seeking her permission. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. Tonight she would let them have their fairy tale and tomorrow... well, tomorrow she would just wait and see.

**A/N: **Was it worth the wait? Haha, I hope so! Updates on this story should be pretty frequent now that I'm back, but I'll be leaving again in a few days. Have no fear, though, because I should have plently of computer access and hopefully I'll be able to update every couple of days. Thanks so much for all the reviews you left for the last chapter. It was a great gift to return home to! Please be sure to let me know what you all thought about this chapter and thank you so much for reading!!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

She laid there, his warm body sprawled right next to her, his arm draped across her chest, and stared at the ceiling. There was so much to think about, so many decisions to make, but last night had been so perfect and even now, in this moment, she felt so unbelievably content that she didn't have the heart to make any decisions about him and her.

The sunlight was slowly pouring through her window and she knew that she needed to get up soon to get ready for work. She needed to get back to her life, to reality and sadly her reality did not include a romantic relationship with Lucas. Not for right now, at least. But she knew he would expect a relationship after last night and she was not looking forward to breaking the news to him that it just would not work.

He stirred suddenly and lifted his face from the pillow towards her. She smiled gently as he slowly opened his eyes and squinted at her, a similar smile forming on his own face.

"Hi," he murmured happily, his arm tightening around her as he buried his face into her neck. She giggled lightly and placed a hand on the back of his head, running her fingers through his hair.

"Hi," she said quietly, grinning as he slowly kissed her neck. It felt so good, so _right_, to have him touch her that way, that she couldn't tell him to stop.

"Last night…" he muttered, pulling away from her slightly, "…was incredible."

"Yeah," she agreed. He was right about that. It had been the best night of her life since…. Well she couldn't even remember. It had just been perfect.

"I love you," he murmured against her neck. She felt goosebumps erupt all over her body and she had to force herself from jumping him right then and there.

"I love you, too." This was going to be so much harder than she had wanted it to be. His face fell back down to the pillow and he closed his eyes, silently dozing.

She took a deep breath and stared down at him. She needed to talk to him, that much was clear, and she knew she couldn't leave him the whole day thinking things that he should be thinking. He wanted them to be together and she wanted that too. But it wouldn't work now. This was something she had been constantly reminding herself ever since his lips had first landed on hers last night.

"Luke?"

He sighed lightly and smiled at her voice, opening his eyes slightly. "Yeah?"

"We need to talk."

He raised an eyebrow and slowly sat up. "That doesn't sound good."

She looked at him guiltily. Straight to the point, that's exactly what she needed to do.

"Luke, we can't do this."

He narrowed his eyes, but he didn't look surprised. "Somehow I knew you were gonna say that."

She sighed. "It's just… Peyton is still getting over you and you two only broke up a month ago. It's just wrong, Lucas, and you know it."

"But I _love_ you, Brooke. I want to be with you."

"I want to be with you, too," she said softly, running a hand through his hair. "But it's not going to work right now. I won't betray Peyton like that."

"If Peyton was a good friend she'd want you to be happy." He was getting frustrated now; she could tell by the way he was squinting at her.

"I know, Luke, but Peyton is…well, she can be a bit selfish, if I'm being honest. But I would never want her to do this to me—,"

"She _did_, though. Back in senior year."

Did he really have to bring that up? She really hated thinking about it. "I know, Luke. And I _hated_ it. I won't do the same thing to her."

He frowned and lay back on the bed. "I understand your reasoning, Brooke, I really do…I just want to be with you so badly. Maybe…maybe Peyton doesn't need to know."

"What, you mean date secretly?" She practically laughed at the idea. In her mind that was an even worse betrayal. To keep something like this from Peyton was _not_ an option. "That's not gonna happen. We can't sneak around like that behind Peyton's back like we're committing adultery or something like that."

He sighed. "Well, Brooke, I'm all for _openly_ dating, but _secretly_ dating seems to be the only option you're giving me."

"Lucas, I'm not really giving you an option," she said, sitting up. The frustration in her voice was very clear, but she needed him to know that she wasn't playing around. "We _can't_ do this right now."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" he asked, sitting up again and looking her in the eye. By now, he seemed just as frustrated as she was. "You're in Tree Hill for the next two days and on Saturday we're going to be spending practically the whole day together. How am I supposed to act around you then, Brooke? Am I supposed to act like last night never happened? That we didn't confess our love for each other? Because I can't do that, Brooke, and I know you can't either."

She looked down at her hands, knowing that he had a point. Her being in Tree Hill meant that she and Lucas would be spending a lot of time together. And they definitely couldn't ignore what happened last night. It wasn't a simple one-night stand, it was so much more. Their relationship had been rekindled and that was something they couldn't hide.

"Listen," Lucas said, and his voice was soft as he took her hand, "we don't have to tell Peyton right now, but I don't think we should try to push away from each other while you're here. For the next few days, let's just be together. We don't have to make it public, we don't even have to tell Nathan and Haley. It's just you and me. And when you go back to New York, we can take the time away from each other to figure out what to do next. We don't need to announce it to the world just yet."

His suggestion was a good one, but it still sounded like "secret" dating and she didn't like the idea.

"We're not sneaking around, Brooke," he said, as if reading her mind, "we're just waiting for the right time to tell everyone, even if it takes a few months."

Brooke sighed and sagged against Lucas, finally giving up. He was right, they could never ignore what had happened between them. They would just have to stay quiet about their relationship for a little while.

"Fine," she muttered, her head resting on his shoulder. "But if this plans backfires…"

"You'll kill me, I know." He chuckled and kissed her cheek. "This is gonna work, Brooke—you and me. I really believe that."

It was good to hear how sure he sounded about them, but at the same time she felt like she needed more from him. He had been in love with her before and it had not ended very well. Then again, _she _had been the one to end it, but still, she needed to know that the way he felt for her was real. She was pretty sure that the only way for him to really prove it would simply be time—time would tell what the future held for them.

She looked over at the clock on her nightstand. It was 9:30 and the shop opened a half hour ago. Jenna was probably wondering where she was.

"I've got to go," she said, pulling away from him apologetically and slipping off the bed. "I was supposed to be at work a half hour ago."

"But you're the boss," he said innocently, "can't you go in as you please?" He got off the bed and walked behind her, wrapping his arms around her.

"On any other day, yes, but I promised Jenna I would be there early today. She needs all the help she can get." She slipped out of his arms and walked over to her closet, rummaging through her endless amount of clothes.

"What time will you get out?" he asked, moving towards her again and running a hand down her spine. She shivered at his touch, but kept on looking through her clothes. As much as she would've liked to spend the whole day with him, she knew she couldn't and she wouldn't let him distract her.

"I don't know. Probably around the same time as last night, but I could be there until closing."

"Brooke," he said frustratingly as she pulled a shirt over her head, "closing is at 9:00. You'd be gone the whole day."

"I know." She sighed and picked out a pair of black dress pants. "I hate to sound mean, but I didn't exactly come here for you."

He laughed and tugged at her hand. "I know, but let's face it you _know_ you wanted something like this to happen."

She kinked an eyebrow. "I was definitely _not_ planning on this happening, Lucas Scott…But I'm not sorry that it did."

"Good," he said, pulling her close to him again and kissing her forehead, "because I'm not either."

She sighed and rested against him for a moment. She really did need to go, but she also needed to be close to him. It was funny that it had been over five years since he had held her this way. It felt like just yesterday, though. It was just so easy, so _natural_, for them to be together.

"I really have to go," she murmured against his chest.

"What? No shower?" His voice was suggestive and it took all she had not to slip out of her clothes and into the shower, making sure that he was right behind her. But she couldn't. She definitely didn't have time for that.

"Not now," she said, pulling away and heading towards the door, "but definitely tonight."

He grinned. "I'll just have to stop by then."

"You do that," she said from the doorway. He walked quickly up to her, placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Have a good day, pretty girl."

"I will." She grinned and turned around, heading downstairs, but not before calling back one last time. "See you later, boyfriend."

* * *

"It's a little late, don't you think?"

Lucas opened his eyes in surprise and looked up to find his brother standing at his bedroom door. Jamie stood next to Nathan, holding his hand.

"Hi, Uncle Luke," he said, waving at him.

"Hi, little man…What time is?" Lucas asked his brother, not bothering to glance over at his clock. After he left Brooke's house he had immedietly headed to his house, insanely tired from the night before—he and Brooke hadn't exactly done a lot of sleeping..

"It's half past three," Nathan said, grinning slightly. "Time sure does fly when you don't have a proper job."

"You're one to talk," Lucas replied, laughing as he sat up and leaned against the head of the bed. Jamie climbed up next to him and Lucas pulled him onto his lap. "What up?"

"We're headed over to the River Court. You wanna come?" Nathan said.

Lucas nodded; anything to make the day go by faster so he could get closer to being with Brooke.

"Sounds good."

"Dad?" Jamie asked and Lucas looked down at his nephew. "Can we go see Aunt Brooke first? Momma says she's really busy and I probably won't get to see her today. But if we go see her at work I definitely will!"

The second Brooke's name came out of Jamie's mouth, Lucas' mind drifted to the night before. When she had invited him inside he knew that he would finally take action, that he would tell her his feelings for her. And it had worked out. He loved her and she loved him, and they would be together. Things were finally falling into place and he was pretty sure that the moment they made their relationship public would be the moment he asked her to spend the rest of her life with him. He couldn't wait much longer than that.

"What do you say, Luke?" Nathan's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

Lucas smiled down at Jamie. "That sounds like an excellent idea."

Fifteen minutes later they walked inside the doors of Clothes Over Bros. Costumers fluttered in between the racks, all of them women, but he was intent on finding Brooke's familiar face. He spotted Jenna, the girl Brooke had hired to manage the store, behind the desk, but there was no sign of the girl he was looking for. Jamie clung to his hand, standing on his tip toes, looking intently around for Brooke.

"Daddy, can I go on your shoulders so I can find her?" Jamie asked.

Nathan laughed. "Jamie, she's probably in the back. Sitting on my shoulders won't help find her."

It was silly, he knew, but Lucas felt like he was just as excited to see Brooke as Jamie was, although it was for an entirely different reason.

"Hi, guys." A raspy, familiar voice came from behind them and Lucas grinned as he turned to look at her.

"Aunt Brooke!" Jamie ran to her and she bent down to his level, pulling him into a hug, and Lucas smiled at the sight of godmother and godson.

"What are you all doing here?" she asked, standing up. Jamie grabbed her hand and beamed up at her.

"Jamie wanted to see you," Nathan said. "I hope you're not too busy."

"I'm never to busy for any of you." She looked at Lucas as she said this and he held her gaze, a light smile tugging at his lips.

"So, how have things been going?" Nathan asked, breaking up their moment.

"Good," she said, looking away from Lucas and towards Nathan. "Things should be patched up within the next couple of days."

"When are you headed back to New York?" Lucas tried to keep the tone of his voice neutral, but the idea of Brooke leaving so soon didn't sit well with him.

"Probably Sunday," she replied, looking back at Lucas. He didn't know if it was just him but she almost sounded like she was challenging him when she said it; like she was daring him to say something, to try to stop her from leaving. He wouldn't do anything, though, because as much as he knew he was going to hate it, she needed to go back to New York.

"But that's really soon," Jamie said, frowning.

"I know, sweetie, but I'll be back again soon. Let's not dwell on that, though. How about you come on back and I'll get you some candy?"

"Do you have M&Ms?" Jamie asked hopefully.

"Of course I do! They're your favorite aren't they?"

They followed her into the backroom, where a few of her employees sat folding clothes. She led them into a corner where a large box sat. She opened it up and Jamie immediately reached inside.

"It's my Jamie box," she explained as she noticed Lucas' questioning glance. "I always have his favorite stuff in here for whenever he's with me."

He grinned as he watched Brooke interact with Jamie. She had always been so good with Jamie and she loved his nephew more than he ever could've imagined. It made him think of her and Angie and how amazing she'd been with her. Even though he hadn't really been aware of his feelings for her during that time, there had always been a part of him that had felt so right, so at home, when he was with her and Angie. He felt like they were a family. And now that they were together again he couldn't keep away the image of him and Brooke with a family of their own. She'd make an amazing mother and, even though they had just gotten back together the night before and she was probably no where near ready to start discussing children with him, he couldn't wait until the day that they had a baby of their own. Because he knew that she was the only women on this earth that he wanted to be the mother of his children.

"Earth to Lucas. Are you there?"

Lucas took his eyes off Brooke and Jamie and looked over at Nathan, who was laughing at him. "Geez, Haley was right when she said you haven't been listening lately."

"What's going on?" Lucas asked as he sat down on a stool.

"What's your problem these days?" Nathan asked jokingly. "Seriously, man, you've been so distracted lately."

"I've had a lot on my mind," Lucas said, shrugging.

"Sure you do." Nathan looked suggestively at Brooke, who was looking at them both in amusement. Lucas glared at his brother. If he hadn't told Brooke about his feelings for her last night then that look Nathan gave her would have really confused her. But, because she knew, she just ignored it.

"Hey, Brooke?" Jenna had just entered the room looking flustered. "Sorry to interrupt, but I'm still having a problem with the register and I've got a customer waiting. Could you come take a look?"

"Sure, I'll be there in a sec." She looked at them apologetically. "I've got to help her out."

"No problem," Nathan said. "We've got to head over to the River Court anyway. Skillz has probably been waiting for us for a while."

"I'll see you later, buddy." She brought Jamie into a tight hug and then turned to Nathan. "See you, Nathan." She looked over at Lucas, an almost unnoticeable smirk on her face. "Bye, Luke."

He watched her as she disappeared through the door, her hips swaying seductively all the while. He wondered if she was torturing him like this on purpose... Tonight couldn't come fast enough.

* * *

Brooke walked through her door, completely exhausted, and fell onto her couch. It was 9:30 and she had been at the shop for almost a full twelve hours. She would not be doing that again anytime soon.

"So, are you still gonna be taking that shower?"

She jumped, her eyes widening in surprise as she turned to look at the owner of the voice, who was leaning against the counter in her kitchen. She couldn't help but glare at Lucas as he smirked at her.

"Lucas Scott, are you _trying_ to kill me?"

He laughed and walked over to her. "Sorry about that, I really didn't mean to scare you."

She rolled her eyes and sat back down on the couch. As happy as she was to see Lucas, she wasn't very interested in a shower right now; she had had too little sleep the night before and being on her feet the whole day wasn't helping her feel any less tired.

"Honestly, Luke, I'm really too tired to do anything tonight," she said. He sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her.

"I can't say I blame you," he murmured, his lips resting against her forehead. "Why don't we just sleep, then?"

"Really?" she asked, looking up at him gratefully. Lucas had always been a gentleman, never pushing her into anything she didn't want, and it was one of the things she loved most about him.

He nodded. "Really."

"Thanks."

"Come on," he said, picking her up gently from the couch, "let's go to your room. It's much more comfortable."

He grunted as he carried her up the stairs and she laughed. "Am I too heavy for you, Luke?"

"No way," he said, chuckling.

He dropped her carefully onto her bed, pulling up the covers over her before slipping in next to her. They lay on their sides, his arms wrapped around her and she rested her head against his chest. Being held by him felt so perfect; there was nothing else in this world that made her feel so content. She felt herself slowly start to drift off, her eyes closing as she nestled close to him.

"I love you," she whispered quietly.

"I love you, too, Brooke Davis, and I always will."

She smiled, knowing that there was nothing else in the world that could make her as happy as those words did.

**A/N: **I'm not really happy with this chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it. This was more of a filler chapter than anything. I just though we needed some BL fluff. There should be some more of that in the next chapter. The chapter after that is where things will start to get pretty interesting, at least _I_ think so. Thanks for reading and remember to review!!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

It was Saturday morning and Brooke was currently sitting on her living room couch and sifting through her purse, looking for her cell phone. Today would be the first time since she had returned to Tree Hill where she could just relax and she was going to take full advantage of it. Spending the day with just Lucas and Jamie was enticing and she knew that, even though Jamie was unaware of his godparent's relationship, they could act fairly free around him without worrying about how he'd react.

Today she just wanted to be normal, to be surrounded by Lucas and Jamie and people she didn't know at all. She just wanted to blend in the crowd, maybe hold Lucas' hand, and forget about all of her troubles. But before she could do that, she needed to check up on Peyton—just once today and then she would leave her be until tomorrow, when she would be returning to New York.

She found her phone and punched in her best friend's number on speed dial. The phone rang and rang, but Peyton did not pick up. Brooke sighed, but wasn't surprised; Peyton rarely answered her phone these days. So, she punched in Rachel's number, knowing that the redhead always answered her phone.

"What's up, hoe?"

Brooke laughed. "Nothing much, bitch. I was actually just calling to check up on Peyton."

She could hear the distinct sound of an exaggerated sigh coming from Rachel's end of the line.

"She's _fine_," Rachel said. "I told you that yesterday and the day before and the day before that and it's still the same answer."

"I know, but I'm just making sure. Are you keeping an eye out for her?"

"She's not five, Brooke, she doesn't need a babysitter."

"Seriously, Rachel, just tell me _something_." She knew that Rachel wasn't purposely trying to annoy her, but she found herself getting irritated by Rachel's evasiveness to answer her question.

"She's been out a lot," Rachel finally said. "I've gone out with her every night so far, and she's doing pretty good. She's actually kind of obsessing over this local band she found. I think she's trying to sign them. Anyway, it's been keeping her busy."

Brooke's eyes narrowed at the mention of Peyton trying to sign a band. "A band? If she signs them, then do you think she'll bring them down to Tree Hill? I mean, if they're from New York it doesn't seem like they'd want to pick up and leave for some small southern town. Do you think she's going to stay in New York for them?"

She couldn't hide the anxiety in her voice. It was good that Peyton had found a band that she could possibly sign, but she knew that signing a band could also mean a longer stay in New York for Peyton, thus meaning a longer stay for _her_. And she did _not_ want that.

Rachel laughed. "Wow, Brooke, you sure sound enthusiastic about the whole thing. You know, you don't have to stay here just because Peyton is here. You obviously want to be in Tree Hill, so why don't you move back?"

"Because Peyton needs me."

"No," Rachel said bluntly, "she really doesn't. She's doing just fine."

She knew that Rachel had a point, but still, she needed to go back to New York for a little while longer and make sure that Peyton was holding well on her own. And, if she was being honest with herself, she also wanted to convince Peyton to come home. Just a few more months and she was pretty sure she would be able to.

There was a knock on her door and she knew that Lucas and Jamie must be here.

"I've got to go, Rach, but thanks for keeping me up to date."

"No problem. And Brooke? Don't worry so much, okay? Peyton's gonna be just fine."

Brooke nodded slowly. "I'll try not to…Alright, well, I'll see you tomorrow."

She hung up the phone and headed towards the door, trying to her best to push away all thoughts of Peyton and New York far away from her mind and just focus on today.

"Hi, boys!" she said cheerfully, as she opened the door to find Lucas standing there with Jamie by his side.

"Hi, Aunt Brooke!" Jamie said excitedly. "Are you excited to go to the zoo?"

"Oh, yeah," she said, taking her godson's hand. "I can't wait to spend the whole day with my two favorite guys."

"You ready to go?" Lucas asked, smiling widely at both of them.

"Yup," she replied, and Jamie pulled her towards Lucas' car. Behind her, Lucas placed a hand on the small of her back and she grinned at his touch.

Today was definitely going to be a good day.

* * *

"Wow."

Brooke smiled as she looked down at Jamie, who had his face pushed up against the glass as he stared in awe at the huge lion.

"It's pretty amazing, isn't it?" she asked, placing her hand on the top of his head and lightly stringing her fingers through his hair. He nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off of the big cat on the other side of the glass.

She looked back at Lucas, who was watching Jamie with a smile on his face. He looked back at her and smiled even wider, before placing an arm around her shoulder.

"Uncle Luke, can we go see the sharks?" Jamie asked suddenly, looking up at both of them. Lucas didn't bother to remove his arm; they didn't really have to hide much from Jamie—he didn't have much of an idea of what was going on anyway.

"Sure, buddy," Lucas responded, "but how about we go get some lunch first. I'm starving."

"Okay, but can I get a hotdog?"

"You can get whatever you want, Jamie," Lucas said, grinning over his shoulder at her. They made their way towards the food stands with Jamie in between them, holding both their hands. They mixed well with the large crowd of people, mostly parents and young children, and to most they looked like a simple, happy family.

Brooke was sure that every now and then someone would recognize her; being a famous fashion designer normally did that to you. But she knew that no one here really cared all that much. They were here for there families, just like she was, and so she didn't feel at all uncomfortable about just being herself or occasionally grabbing Lucas' hand. For once in her life she just felt normal.

"So," Lucas said as Brooke and Jamie sat down at a small table outside, "a hotdog for Jamie, and what can I get for you, Brooke?"

"I'll have what he's having," Brooke replied, nudging Jamie playfully.

"Alright then, I'll be back in a few."

She smiled as she watched him disappear into the crowd and turned her attention back on her godson.

"So, how are liking the zoo so far, Jamie?"

"It's the coolest thing in the whole wide world!"

"Yeah? And what was your favorite animal so far?"

"Definitely the lion. And the tiger. And the gorilla too. But I think I'm gonna like the sharks the best!"

Brooke couldn't help but chuckle at how enthusiastic Jamie was about just about everything. It didn't take much to please him, but she was glad that she was able to spend time with him while she was here, to make sure that she could make him as happy as possible and act on her duty as his godmother. At the same time she knew that he didn't need lions or tigers or sharks to make him happy when he was with her; just being with her was enough for him and she could never get over how honored that made her feel.

"Aunt Brooke?"

"Yeah?" She looked down at his curious face.

"Do you like Uncle Luke?"

She kinked an eyebrow. "Of course I do. He's one of my best friends."

"Do you love him?"

Her eyebrows furrowed as she wondered why exactly Jamie was asking this. She knew that she and Lucas had been a bit touchy feely today, but only when Jamie wasn't paying much attention. So why was he suddenly so interested in them?

"Yeah," she answered honestly. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I heard Momma say that Uncle Luke loved you and I wanted to know that you felt the same why."

"Okay…" She wasn't completely sure where Jamie was going with this.

"Do you love him like my Momma loves my Daddy?"

She looked at him with wide eyes, not really knowing what to say to that. "Um, I…"

"I hope you do, because if you marry Uncle Luke then you and me will have the same last name. Wouldn't that be cool?"

Brooke laughed; of course Jamie would think it would be great if she and Lucas married—sharing the same last name would make him feel even closer to her, even though she was already his godmother.

"Yeah, buddy, that would be pretty cool."

"So do you, Aunt Brooke?"

She sighed. She could be honest and tell him how she truly felt, but then she'd have to risk Jamie telling Haley, thus making their relationship a little less private, and probably in the end making Peyton be the last to know, which she wouldn't let happen. But for some reason she had the nagging urge to just tell him. Jamie was so young and so innocent that telling him something as big as this didn't fully bother her. So she settled on the truth, hoping that the decision wouldn't come back to haunt her.

"Yeah, I do."

Jamie's mouth widened into a huge smile. "I thought you did! Daddy said that you and Uncle Lucas wouldn't stop staring at each other when you came over the other night. He said you were in love, but you'd never admit it 'cause you were too stubborn!"

"He did, did he?" Brooke asked curiously. She hadn't thought that Nathan suspected anything, but then again he was Lucas' brother; she wouldn't be surprised if Lucas had mentioned something about her to him.

"Yup, and he wanted to make a bet with Momma on when you two would finally come to your senses, but Momma said that gambling was bad."

She laughed. "Hmm, interesting…" She'd have to make it a point to talk to Nathan and Haley about that in the near future and maybe give them a hard time when she and Lucas actually made their relationship public. But first she needed to make sure Jamie wouldn't say anything to them.

"Listen, Jamie, I know that your parents think that we love each other, but can you not tell them what I just told you? Your Uncle and I are kind of working through some things right now and we just aren't ready for anybody to know that we…are in love with each other." She wasn't sure how else to explain the situation, so she settled on that. It was vague, but it was the best she could come up with."

"Are you and Uncle Luke dating?" He was sitting up in his chair now, gripping the table in excitement.

"Um…kind of. But no one can know, okay? Jamie, you gotta promise me that you'll keep this secret."

He looked confused but he nodded. "Okay, I will."

"Pinky swear?" Brooke lifted her hand and pointed out her pinky.

"Pinky swear," he said, nodding again as he linked his pinky in hers.

Brooke ruffled his hair gently and smiled down at him. "That's my boy. Now, your Uncle Lucas is coming back, so let's eat our food quickly and then we'll go see the sharks!"

Jamie grinned as Lucas appeared behind them, carrying a huge tray of food.

"Okay, I've got your hotdogs and a few other items that I think you'll both like."

"A few?" Brooke said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," he said, shrugging as he took a seat next to her, "well, I figured we'd all be hungry. Eat up, J. Luke."

Underneath the table, his hand found hers and she smiled. On her other side, she was pretty sure that Jamie was smiling just as widely, probably pleased that someday he and his godmother just might have the same last name.

* * *

"Aunt Brooke, do you _really_ have to leave?"

Brooke smiled guiltily down at Jamie and nodded. They were standing on Haley and Nathan's front doorstep, dropping Jamie off after their long day together.

"I'll be back soon, though, hopefully with your Aunt Peyton," she said, pulling him into a tight tug.

"You leave early in the morning, right?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, I have to be at the airport by seven."

"I'll pick you up at about 6:30, then," Haley said and Brooke looked at her gratefully.

"Haley, it's a Sunday," Lucas immediately said, and Brooke knew that it was inevitable that he would object to the arrangements she had made with Haley the day before. "You should sleep in. I can take Brooke."

"Lucas, it's okay, I—."

"No, I instist. You need a break, Hales. I'm sure Brooke agrees with me on that."

Brooke nodded. She'd told Haley the other day that her friend really needed to take a break and she wasn't going to change her mind on that. Plus, she didn't mind at all that Lucas would take her to the airport. The only reason she hadn't asked him in the first place was because she was worried that he'd try to stop her from leaving. But she knew deep down that he wouldn't, and so she agreed quickly to let him take her.

"Well, it's late, Brooke," Lucas said, turning to look at her, "and you've got an early day tomorrow, so you should get some sleep. Come on, I'll take you home."

Brooke practically laughed when he said that she needed sleep; in his mind he was probably thinking that she would be getting anything but.

"I'll be seeing you all soon, hopefully," Brooke said, pulling both Nathan and Haley into a hug, before scooping down and kissing Jamie's cheek.

"I already miss you," she said, smiling weakly at him. She felt so bad that she had to leave him again so soon.

"I already miss you, too," Jamie said, his little smile was irresistible and so she hugged him one last time. Lucas' hand was on her back, signaling that he was ready to leave and so stood up and smiled at them all.

"I love you guys," she said, turning as Lucas led her to his car.

"We love you, too. Tell Peyton we miss her," Haley called out to her as she stepped into the car.

Brooke nodded. "I will," she said and then they were pulling out of the driveway and she took one last glance at Jamie's sad smile before turning away.

"You okay?" Lucas asked, taking her hand.

She shrugged. "I'm just really gonna miss everyone."

"You don't _have_ to go back, Brooke."

"Believe me, I know that. I was just talking to Rachel about this earlier, actually. But I feel like I need to. I need to make sure Peyton's doing okay and I need to convince her to come back. Her home isn't in New York, Luke, it's in Tree Hill and we all know that. She just can't keep running from her problems."

He nodded slowly and, to her surprise, didn't argue with her. He just held tightly onto her hand and drove on quietly down the road, both lost in their own thoughts.

* * *

They were at the airport early the next morning, surrounded by a crowd of people. She was reminded of months earlier when she had dropped Angie off here to return her to her family. Lucas had been there, too, supporting her and giving her the comfort she needed. She was pretty sure that she had fallen in love all over again with Lucas during the time he had been with her while she took care of Angie, and that night at the airport she was also pretty sure that she realized it, subconsciously or not.

"Well," he said, smiling weakly at her and trying to act as happy as he possiblly could. He was failing miserably, but she wouldn't let him know that, "have a good trip."

"It's just a few more months, I promise," she said, taking both of his hands in hers, "then I'll be home for good."

"And we can tell everyone about us." He grinned cheekily at her and she smiled.

"Maybe, maybe not. We'll just have to see. But Luke? I really think you should come up to New York sometime soon. I think that maybe if Peyton spent some time with you, she'd be able to get over you a little better. I mean, she hasn't seen you for a month and I really think that it's important that you to talk about this whole thing, you know?"

"Hmm, you want me to come visit?" He was smiling widely, his gloomy behavior from earlier nowhere in sight. "You know you don't have to ask. One of the pros of having the basketball season be over and not really having any other job except for writing is that I have a lot of free time on my hands. So, I'm probably going to show up randomly at your door in a couple days anyway."

She grinned but looked at him pointedly. "I know, Luke, but I want you to be there for more than just me. I _really_ think you and Peyton still have a lot of issues that you need to deal with and I think that the faster you deal with them, the faster it'll be take for me to go home."

"You don't need to convince me, Brooke. I'll come, I'll talk to her. I can promise you that."

"Okay," she said, nodding slowly before looking over at the screen with all the departure times. She didn't have much time; she needed to get down to her gate in fifteen minutes.

"I have to go, Lucas," she said regretfully, "but I'll call you once I land."

He smiled and removed his hands from her grasp. "I love you," he said, quiet enough so that no one else could hear.

"I love you, too," she murmured as he pulled her into a tight embrace. He gently kissed her cheek as they pulled away. She wanted so badly to kiss him right then and there, but she knew that they couldn't do anything like that in here. They could act like close friends, nothing more. Anyway, they had said their real goodbyes the night before and that was enough for her. At least for right now.

She slowly back away, a sad smile on her face, and waved weakly. "See you soon."

He smiled sadly back at her and nodded. "See you, pretty girl."

She turned away quickly and headed for her terminal. She hated that she had to leave and she knew that coming back to Tree Hill would do that to her. It's just, she hadn't expected that she and Lucas would confess their love for each other or end up secretly dating. After only a few days, she was already unbearably attached to him, and she still wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

She just hoped that Peyton would be ready to come home soon because if she wasn't ready in a few months, she was pretty sure that she wouldn't be able to stay with her in New York any longer.

**A/N: **I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for reading and please remember to review!!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"P. Sawyer, get off your lazy ass and come and give your best friend a hug!"

Peyton groaned as she dug her face deeper into her pillow and Brooke looked at her exasperatingly. It was noon and she had just returned home from the airport. She wasn't surprised that Peyton was still sleeping, after all that's what she did on Sunday mornings, but Brooke was eager to talk to her about what had been going on while she was gone. Rachel hadn't really told her anything else except that Peyton was trying to sign that local band she had found, and Brooke was interested in hearing the whole story.

"Do you _always_ have to be so cheery in the morning?" Peyton said, her voice muffled by the pillow.

Brooke laughed. "Of course I do. Come on, Peyton, didn't you miss me?" She fell down next to Peyton on the bed and lay sideways, propping herself up on her elbow to look at her friend.

"So, what's been going on since I left?" she asked.

Peyton twisted around and looked at her, smiling lightly as she hugged Brooke with one arm.

"Not much."

"Rachel told me about that band you were looking to sign."

"Yeah," Peyton said, turning on her back and looking up at the ceiling, "I still don't know for sure if it's gonna work out, but it's looking good right now. They're pretty amazing, though; I think they'd be a big hit."

"That's great," Brooke said, and it really was. She wanted Peyton's label to be successful. She just didn't want it to be successful from New York, as selfish as it was. "So…do they know that you're rooted in Tree Hill? I mean, are they interested enough to move down there for a little bit?"

Peyton smiled weakly at her. "That's one of the problems, actually. A couple of them are for it, but the other two don't want to leave the city. I was thinking that maybe if I rented a place up here—,"

"Peyton," she said, stopping her before she could say another word. This was exactly what she had been afraid of. "You can't stay here, you know that. Your label is in Tree Hill. Your _home_ is in Tree Hill."

"I know…it's just that I really like it here, Brooke."

"Why? Because there's no Lucas? Because you don't have to worry about facing him everyday? You know, if that's the reason why— and you and I both know it is— then it's not gonna work, because in the end you'll just bump into him again and all those old wounds will reopen. You _need_ to talk to him, Peyton. You can't keep hiding from your problems."

Peyton sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I know that, Brooke, but it's only been a little over a month. I'm just not sure I'm ready."

Brooke smiled sympathetically. She realized she was being a bit harsh on Peyton; she just wanted her to realize that being in New York wasn't going to solve any of her problems. Peyton needed to talk to Lucas. That was the only way they could ever get full closer—the only way that she would stop feeling guilty for loving Lucas and for being with him.

"Peyton, I know that it's going to be hard, I just want you to think about it, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay…So, how is Lucas, anyway?"

Brooke's throat tightened at her question and she felt suddenly very guilty as she lay next to her best friend. She knew that Peyton didn't know anything, but still, she was worried that she would give something away about what happened. How that would happen, she didn't know, but she couldn't help the anxiety that filled her mind.

"Um, he's doing okay," she said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Good," Peyton murmured, not seeming at all suspicious.

"He's, uh, actually going to be coming up to visit sometime." She figured she'd bettered drop the ball now that she had the chance.

Peyton sat up suddenly, turning her head quickly to look at Brooke with a horrified expression. Brooke smiled back at her guiltily.

"Seriously, Brooke? Did you invite him? I swear to God, Brooke—,"

"Peyton, relax," Brooke said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "he _wants_ to come."

"Well, _I _don't want him to come! Did you not hear what I just told you? I'm not _ready_ to talk to him yet."

Brooke sighed. She had hoped that Peyton would be a bit more enthusiastic, but obviously that wasn't going to happen. "It's not like he's coming today, Peyton. You've still got some time to figure things out."

Peyton glared at her. "This is _all_ your fault."

She knew that Peyton wasn't really angry with her, she was just worried about getting hurt again, and so she took her hand in a reassuring way and smiled.

"It's going to be okay, Peyton. I know it's going to be hard, but I really think that once you've had a chance to talk, you'll be able to get some closure and you can really move on with your life."

"You're probably right," Peyton muttered, resting her head on Brooke's shoulder.

She chuckled lightly. "I always am."

* * *

Lucas sat in his chair, staring at the large manuscript on his desk wearily. His newest book had caused him a lot of problem, he couldn't deny that. The whole comet nonsense had gotten out of hand. He could understand why Lindsay had thought it was Peyton; she had been a huge part of his life at one time and Lindsay was constantly threatened by that. He never really intended for his story to be some epic love story, though, and he still wasn't really sure why Lindsay saw it that way— or really why she would even think he and Peyton's love for each other was epic in any sort of way.

He wasn't denying that the comet _was _Peyton, though. Peyton had been one of the people who had changed his life drastically, who had helped make his life whole. But so had so many other people— Brooke, Haley, Nathan, his mother, Keith, and, of course, Whitey, Skillz, Mouth and, although it wasn't really a person, basketball. In his mind it was those core group of people who had really shaped his life and he was pretty sure that when he wrote about the comet coming back to him he meant all of those people—going back to what they used to have, when he could just be a kid and do what he loved best.

Still, he honestly didn't see the comet as a metaphor for his life. It was just a book. Just like Peyton's car was just a car—the fact that it was a Comet was just a weird coincidence. So, even though the comet he wrote about in the book truly did mean something to him, it had nothing to do with romance or an epic love story. He understood why people might take it that way, but he hadn't intended for it at all.

Even with all the problems the book had caused, he was still happy that he had written it. If he hadn't, he wasn't sure if Lindsay would have left him at the altar, and then he couldn't have gotten closure with Peyton and then…well, he definitely wouldn't have realized how very much in love he was with Brooke.

It had all worked out for the best; that was for sure.

"What are you doing?"

Lucas smiled at the sound of his best friend's voice.

"Hey, Hales. I was just looking through the latest manuscript Lindsay sent me of my book."

"Ah, the infamous _comet_." She took a seat on the bed next to his bed and laughed. "That's gotten you into a lot of trouble, hasn't it?"

"Now that I look back on it, not really," he said, shrugging, but not bothering to elaborate. "So, what brings you over here?"

"Oh, I just wanted to drop by and say hi to my best friend. It's been a while since we just hung out."

He leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Yeah, it has."

"Jamie's been going on and on about his trip to the zoo with you the other day."

Lucas smiled at the memory of his day with Jamie and Brooke. It had probably been one of the best days he'd had in a while. "It was a great day."

"You know, he said something when he got home that I thought was kind of funny."

Lucas looked at her curiously. "Yeah?"

She nodded. "He said that someday Brooke's going to have the same last name as him. I asked him what he meant, but he didn't want to say anything else."

He raised an eyebrow. Where in the world had Jamie gotten that idea from? Had he noticed the way that he and Brooke had acted around each other that day? They had been so subtle, so careful, that it just didn't seem possible.

"Why'd he say that?" It was the only thing he could think to say.

"Well, I'm willing to bet that he thinks you and Brooke would make a fine couple," she said, half jokingly, half serious.

"Why would he think that?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you two gave him a _reason_ to think that."

He stared at her, trying to look as innocent as possible— anything to keep Haley from guessing the truth. But this was Haley James Scott and she was one of the smartest people he knew and he knew that acting innocent would get him no where; if she had figured it out, then there was no stopping her.

"Is there something going on between you two, Lucas?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his short, blonde hair. "Nope," he said, shrugging casually. "Although I can't say I wish there wasn't."

If he couldn't be honest with her about his and Brooke's new relationship status, then he was going to at least be honest about how he felt about her; he owed Haley that much.

"I knew it!" she said, standing up and pointing an accusing finger at her with a big smile on her face. "Nathan told me that you might be feeling something for her again, but I didn't think you'd ever actually admit it."

He shrugged. "I can't hide how I feel anymore, Haley."

Haley smiled weakly and sat down again. "Do you think she's the one?"

"She's _always_ been the one… It just took me a lot of time to figure it out."

"She was your first love, Luke," Haley said, her eyes narrowing, "but you hurt a lot. You've really got to make sure you're serious about her before you make a move."

He was more serious about her than he'd been about any other girl in his life and was going to tell Haley exactly that.

"I know I've hurt her," he said, coming to sit next to Haley on his bed, "but if anything, I've learned from my mistakes. Haley, she's been it from the start. I was so in love with her back in high school to the point that I was thinking about marrying her and about having a family with her. I was seventeen and I thought more about a future with her than I ever did with Peyton at that age. But then she broke up with me and we lost our way for awhile and…I really think that we'll find our way back."

"Do you think Brooke feels the same way? I mean, it's been over five years since you've last been together and, to be honest, she kind of seems like she's over you. Don't get me wrong, I see hints everyday that she's still got feelings for you, but you can't ever know for sure."

Lucas tried to hide the smile that was forming on his lips; she definitely _wasn't_ over him, but he couldn't let Haley know that.

"I don't know," he lied, "but I'll find out sooner or later."

Haley sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. "Lucas, I love you and Brooke and I'd love to have her as a sister-in-law someday, but you've _really_ got to be careful. I told Brooke a long time ago to be careful with your heart, that it was more fragile than she thought, but now I'm going to tell you the same thing."

"Haley—." He needed to let her know how serious he was about Brooke, about how much she meant to him, but Haley wouldn't let him finish.

"Brooke's been hurt _so _much, Lucas, and I know that you know that, but she's still really fragile. She dealing with Peyton and her whole company and I know that she's still struggling with losing Angie, not to mention that I think that she's still juggling some feeling for you… I just think that you should think about everything before you make a move. I don't want a replay of this whole Peyton situation. Or the Lindsay one, for that matter."

Listening to Haley speak about how fragile Brooke was and how she was worried that she would end up like Lindsay or Peyton tore him apart. He had thought about it before, but coming from Haley's mouth it sounded so much more real and he wondered how Brooke could ever want him back in the first place. He didn't even know how she could find him trustworthy. He knew that he needed to find a way to make her believe that, to let her know that she was it for him. They hadn't really talked about it yet, but he would make it a point to when he went to New York to visit her and Peyton.

"I'll think about it, Haley," he said, his voice completely sincere. "I promise you that I will _never_ hurt Brooke again."

She smiled gently and him and wrapped a friendly arm around his shoulder. "I know you would never intentionally hurt her, I just…I'm just worried about her, that's all. And I'm worried about you too, actually. I just want you to be happy and to find the girl that you want to spend the rest of your life with and if that girl is Brooke, then I'll support your decision wholeheartedly. Just as long as you don't ever intentionally hurt her again."

Their conversation reminded him of the one they had had the night he had asked Peyton to Vegas, when Haley had told him to stop hiding his heart. He had never told anyone that he'd considered asking Brooke or Lindsay to Las Vegas too. He was pretty sure that both of them would have said no, though. That's one of the main reasons he had asked Peyton.

"I thought about asking Brooke to go to Vegas with me that night," he said quietly, deciding that this might help assure Haley of his feelings for Brooke.

She looked at him curiously, but she didn't look surprised. "Luke, when I talked to you that night I basically gave you three girls to choose from, didn't I? So, I'm guessing you also considered Lindsay."

It was a statement, not a question, and there was no need for him to answer, so instead he moved on to a more interesting question.

"Did you think that I still had feelings for Brooke when you told me that?" he asked curiously. "I mean, why would you suggest her if you didn't think I still had feelings for her?"

"I thought that there was something there, something that was being overshadowed by the whole Lindsay-Peyton love triangle. But, yeah, I thought that you might have feelings for and I thought that she might have some also. You two have really become so close ever since she came back to Tree Hill, and you got even closer when she was taking care of Angie. I guess it wasn't too hard picturing something happening between you both. You both want the same things: a family, a life in Tree Hill, a true love that can survive anything. And with Angie, you two already looked like you had that—you looked like a family. So, I guess you and her just make sense."

Now that he really thought about it, those times when it had been just him, Brooke, and Angie had been one of the clearest and most simple periods of his life, at least during that past few years.

"Well, I've got to go pick up Jamie," Haley said, standing up. "I know you're planning on going to New York in a few weeks, so make sure you _really_ think about what I said, okay?"

He nodded slowly; he definitely would. Even though he and Brooke were back together, he really thought that this was something he and Brooke needed to talk about and, most of all, he needed her to know just how serious he was about her.

"Thanks for the advice, Hales," he said, standing up and walking with her to the door.

"No problem," she said, grinning back at him. "And listen, Luke, I really am happy about you still having feelings for Brooke, okay? I'm not trying to be discouraging; I'm just trying to be real."

"I know, believe me I do. And I'm going to think about what you said."

She smiled. "Thanks, Luke…You coming over for dinner tonight?"

"Definitely," he said, grinning back at her.

"Good," she replied, pulling him into a short hug.

"I love you, Hales."

"I love you, too, Luke. And I really hope that things work out with you and Brooke." She turned to leave. "I'll see you tonight."

With that, she closed the door behind her and left him to his thoughts. Now more than ever he felt the urge to see Brooke and to talk about this whole thing and to get through so that they could move further in their relationship.

And now that he really thought about it, that—communication, that is— was always one of his and Peyton's major problems when it came to their relationship. They always tried to ignore all of the bad things that would go on during their relationship. Their time away when they had gone to Vegas had been spent in their little dream world. It hadn't been real at all and, even when they returned home, they were very delayed in coming back to reality. But when they did, things got ugly and Lucas realized that he wasn't really in love with Peyton, but more of the idea of what they could have had.

He and Brooke had never really had that problem, though. Yes, they had problems with letting each other in, as well as many other more trivial problems, but they _tried_ and that was more than he could say about himself and Peyton. His and Brooke's relationship had never been a fairy tale. It had been real and mature and a lot of the times they struggled, but they would always talk things through. They had been in love, but their relationship was based on more than that, no matter what anyone else said. And that was why he and Peyton just didn't work.

Now that they were back together, Lucas couldn't deny that a lot more struggles would lie ahead, but he knew that they could deal with whatever came their way. They wouldn't hide from their problems—they would face them head on and defeat them when they came.

**A/N: **Sorry, I know there's no BL interaction in there, but at least almost all of the discussion centered around them, right? I hope you enjoyed it, especially after last night's episode. I'm still holding out for Brucas, though. Like I said in this chapter, Leyton are living in their own little dream world and when they get out of it and reality finally hits them, I really don't think things are gonna be too good for them. But that's just how I want things to happen. Knowing Mark, though…well, I'm just going to try to stay positive and I hope that you all will do the same!

As always, thanks for reading and please remember to review!


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

He was coming today. And she was extrememly excited, a lot more than she should have been, but Peyton was a bit more on the nervous side. Actually, she was freaking out.

"I just don't know if I can do this," she exclaimed as she paced around the living room. Brooke and Rachel were sitting down on the couch, watching her with a mixture of both sympathy and mild amusement. "I mean, what if he comes back and I realize that I'm still in love with him? I've been doing so well without him and I really think I'm _so_ close to getting over him, but what if him coming here will ruin all that? What if I have to start from scratch?"

"Relax, Peyton," Brooke said, standing up and putting a reassuring arm around her friend's shoulder. "He's not going to ruin any of the progress you've made. In fact, I think he'll only further it."

Brooke honestly wasn't too worried about Peyton's feelings resurfacing. Peyton had been doing really well, especially since Brooke had returned from Tree Hill three weeks ago. Lucas had been trying to visit pretty much ever since she left, but Brooke insisted that he waited a little while to make sure that Peyton was prepared. And Brooke knew now that she was; she was just nervous now that it was actually going to happen.

"So, Peyton," Rachel said, "you know the plan. Brooke and I are going out tonight for a few hours and you and Lucas will stay here and talk. No flaking out."

"No flaking out," Peyton repeated, running a hand through her long hair and nodding. "Okay. I can do this. Everything will be fine."

There was a knock on the door and Peyton immediately froze. Brooke, on the other hand, was giddy with excitement, but she couldn't let Peyton or Rachel see it. So, she calmly walked towards the door, smiling encouragingly back at Peyton and slowly opened it.

And there he was, beaming at her on the other side of the door, and it took everything she had not to jump into his arms and kiss him speechless.

"Lucas," she breathed, gripping tightly onto the door, "you're finally here."

"Yeah," he said, grinning irresistibly. "It's good to see you, Brooke." He moved closer to her and she instantly moved back, giving him a warning look. But he just laughed and pulled her into what looked like a friendly hug, but was really anything but.

"Come on in," she choked out, pulling away quickly.

He followed her in and she watched as Peyton stood there and looked at Lucas nervously. He smiled weakly at the sight of her and put his hands in his pockets.

"Hey, Peyton," he said simply.

"Hey, Luke," she said, a small grin forming on her face. Brooke looked at them both and hoped that they would work things out quickly. It would be awkward at first, but she knew that after an hour or so of talking things through, and maybe a little bit of yelling, they could work things out.

"Lucas," Brooke said, and he turned to look at her intently, "Rachel and I are going out, so we'll probably see you in a couple of hours."

His gaze was penetrating as he stared back at them in confusion. He obviously hadn't been expecting them to just leave him and Peyton alone the minute he arrived.

"Okay…"

"See you later, Lucas," Rachel said, picking up her purse, and Brooke quickly followed her out the door.

"You think they'll get some closure?" Rachel asked as they stepped into the elevator.

"Yeah, I really do."

And she truly believed that.

* * *

"So…"

Peyton fiddled with her hands and she looked awkwardly down at the floor. Lucas sat down on the couch and patted the cushion next to him. If Brooke wanted them to work things through right away, then he'd definitely try.

She sat down, sitting as far away from him as possible, and continued looking downward.

"How have things been going?"

"Good. Really good, actually. I really like it up here." From the way she said it, it was like she was trying to convince him that she didn't need Tree Hill, that she didn't need him, but he knew better. They both needed each other, even if it was just as friends.

"We really miss you back home, Peyton. Nothing's the same without you. And Brooke, too." Of course, without Brooke life didn't seem to be whole.

"I miss it, too, Lucas," she muttered, finally looking at him, "it's just really hard. Going back there will bring back memories that I've been trying really hard to block out."

"You can't try to stuff those memories away, Peyton," he said. "It's just not that easy. You need to face them, that's the only way that you can be happy again."

"It's just hard. I don't want to forget about what we had, but at the same time I feel like I need to."

"Tell me something, Peyton, what does seeing me here do to you?"

"I don't know…" She fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "I guess it makes me feel awkward."

He laughed. "Yeah, but does it bring back those feelings you used to have for me? Does it make you wish that we were still together?"

She sighed and didn't speak for a few moments, obviously gathering her thoughts. "Seeing you here makes me think of what could have been. It makes me think of what we had and what we lost. And most of all, it makes me hate that I spent so much of the last five years focusing on getting you back when it all just ended up like this. I guess it makes me feel kind of bitter. But, to answer your question, no, I don't feel like I wish I was still with you. I know now that what we had has been over for a long time now. There's no use in trying to feel that way again. I just wish I could have realized that sooner. But at the same time that doesn't make anything that happened hurt any less."

"Peyton," he said, looking at her fiercely, "it still kills me everyday thinking about how much I hurt you and what I put you through. I'd take it back in a second if I could."

She shrugged and looked back at him. "The way I see it is that everything happens for a reason. What's done is done."

"So, you can forgive me?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling lightly at him. "I forgave you a while ago."

"Thank you," he murmured, touched that she had been so quick to forgive him when he had hurt her so badly. "Peyton, we all really want you to come home. Do you think —."

"Lucas," she interrupted him, "I want to come home, but I just don't think I'm ready. I know I said I'm over you, but I still need time to deal, to try to move on without you. I know that if I go back, you'll start to date again and I just don't think I could handle that right now, because _I'm_ sure as hell not ready to start dating again."

He thought of Brooke and their decision to keep their relationship a secret from Peyton. Part of him had hoped that his conversation with Peyton would make her comfortable enough with him to allow him to tell her about him and Brooke, but now that still didn't seem like an option.

"Okay…" he muttered, not really knowing what else to say. "Well, can we at least try to be friends? I'm gonna be here for a few days and I really wanted to see if we could start over."

"We can definitely start over." And for the first time her during this conversation her voice was confident.

"Good," he said, smiling back at her. "Friends?" He reached out his hand for her to shake

She smiled and shook it. "Friends."

* * *

Brooke sat at the small table in the crowded club, drumming her fingers against the wood in annoyed fashion. She was ready to go home. They'd been out for over two hours and she was tired and she was feeling annoyingly nauseous and, quite frankly, she was ready to see Lucas again.

But Rachel didn't appear to be in any rush to leave.

"Oh, come on you party pooper," she said as she popped down next to Brooke and took a sip of her drink.

"I'm not in the mood right now, Rach," she said warily, swirling the straw in her drink.

"It's only been a couple of hours. Don't you want them to have time to kiss and make up?"

Brooke glared at her. Now was _not_ the time for Rachel's annoying jokes.

"Kidding, kidding. I know you're head over heels in love with him. So, when are you going to do something about that anyway?"

She scowled at her friend, trying to tell her without really saying it out loud that she did not want to talk about it. Rachel, however, didn't get the point.

"I mean, it's been a couple months, right? He's probably ready to move on to someone else. Someone like you."

"A couple months is _not_ a lot of time," she replied. It was stupid to say, considering she and Lucas were already together, but at the same time was true. They hadn't really given much thought about that when they'd agreed to be together.

"Well, I think it is," Rachel said, shrugging as she took a long sip of her drink. "Lucas being in New York is a great opportunity to try something, Brooke. He and Peyton are getting some closure, which means she probably won't mind if he starts dating. I'm actually surprised that nothing happened back when you were in Tree Hill…Nothing _did _happen, did it?"

Rachel was looking at her oddly and she rolled her eyes. "No," she lied, "nothing happened. So just leave it."

For some reason, Brooke found it much easier to lie about the whole situation when she was so irritable.

"Fine," Rachel said, pretending to look offended. "Well, I'm off to get another drink. You know, you might want to take advantage of being single right now. There's plenty of hot guys here."

Brooke sighed and leaned back in her seat, rubbing her aching head. "I don't do stuff like that anymore, Rachel, and you shouldn't either. And don't you think you've had a little too much to drink?"

"Brooke, you've grown up much too fast," Rachel said, clicking her tongue in disapproval and heading over towards the bar, "and you're really no fun anymore. But suit yourself. I'll be over there if you need me."

"Rachel," Brooke called out to her friend desperately. She wasn't sure if she could stand one more minute in here and she wasn't going to leave Rachel behind. "I'm tired and I have a huge headache and, to be honest, I've had the urge to throw up the whole evening, so we need to leave."

She wasn't giving her an option and if Rachel knew what was best for her, she wouldn't argue.

Rachel looked at her curiously. "Are you okay, Brooke? You look kind of pale."

Brooke shrugged. "I'll be fine. Come on, let's go."

The cold air made a huge difference once they made it outside. She felt her headache immediately subside and the nauseous feeling in her stomach was gone. They called a taxi and soon they were back at her apartment building.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Rachel asked as the elevator climbed up to her apartment.

Brooke smiled sincerely. "I'm feeling much better actually. I think the club was just too hot and crowded."

Rachel shook her head, chuckling lightly. "Brooke Davis, I can't believe a club made you sick. You used to be at your best whenever we went out."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "I'm just growing more mature as I get older. Most people do. You should try it."

"Ooh, that was _so_ mean," Rachel laughed.

They stepped out of the elevator and towards the door and Brooke felt excitement growing in the pit of her stomach. It was around eleven at night and she didn't know how much longer he'd be able to stay before he needed to head back to his hotel to sleep. She just hoped they'd be able to find some time to be alone, if only for a few minutes, before he left. She knew that she had all of tomorrow to be with him, but she hadn't seen him in weeks and she was desperate to touch him and to kiss him in a way that Peyton definitely wasn't going to get to see.

"Hi, you two," she said, stepping into the living room. Peyton and Lucas were sitting on the couch, her laptop sitting on her lap, and staring intently at the screen. They looked so comfortable with each other that Brooke was taken back. Then she heard the sound of music coming from the computer and she knew that they were probably listening to one of their favorite bands or something. For them, music was a way to take away the awkwardness and to just try to be normal. And that's obviously what they were trying to do.

"Hey," Lucas said, his mouth widening into a big smile at the sight of them. "Did you two have a good time?"

"_I _did," Rachel said, sitting down on the other couch across from Peyton and Lucas, while Brooke perched on the arm of the couch, "but Brooke on the other hand just sat there the whole time, looking depressed and acting all sickly and stuff. It was ruining the whole atmosphere." Rachel said it half jokingly but the part about her acting sick caught Lucas' attention immedietly.

"You were sick?" he asked, his smile turning into a frown.

She glared at her friend. "God, Rachel, why'd you have to open your big mouth?" She turned to Lucas and sighed. "I'm fine. No need to worry."

Rachel was ruining her mood and, even though she knew that she didn't intentionally do it, she was not going to deal with it any longer.

"I'm going to bed," she announced, standing up and heading towards her bedroom. "I'll see you tomorrow, Luke."

She hadn't intended on just leaving him without getting a chance to talk, but she was starting to feel sick again and Rachel's jokes were putting her in a horrible mood.

Lucas stared at her like she was crazy. Obviously he hadn't planned on saying goodnight to her so quickly. She just smiled wearily at all of them and turned away. Yes, she would still love to be alone with Lucas tonight, but she wasn't in the mood to do any scheming to actually get him to that point. She'd let him figure that out.

So, she settled herself in bed and waited.

* * *

"I'm gonna head off to bed, Lucas," Peyton said, rubbing her eyes tiredly. It was nearly midnight and Lucas had been waiting anxiously for Peyton to finally make a move. Rachel had gone off to her room shortly after Brooke had and now he would finally be able to get his chance.

"Okay," he said, "I'll probably head out, then."

She nodded and looked away awkwardly. Without the music, things suddenly seemed a lot tenser. "Goodnight, Lucas."

"Night," he said, standing up just as she did. "I'm just going to use the bathroom real quick before I leave, if that's okay."

"Sure," she said, pointing towards the hall. "I think you know where it is."

"Yeah I do." He paused. "Tonight was good, don't you think? I mean, it felt as normal as it could with everything that's happened."

"Sure," Peyton said, nodding lightly. "I think we're slowly getting there."

He smiled. "I think so, too…I'll see you tomorrow, Peyton."

She smiled back at him and turned to leave. "See you."

He watched her disappear into her room before quickly heading towards the bathroom. He stopped in there quickly and then moved as silently as he could towards Brooke's room. He saw a dim light coming from underneath her door and smiled—she must be waiting for him.

She kinked an eyebrow at him the moment he entered and he shut the door quietly behind him and grinned.

"Took you long enough," she said. Her voice was low and raspy and she couldn't have been more irresistible.

"Sorry about that," he murmured, slipping into the bed next to her. "You kind of left me hanging."

She shrugged. "Blame it on Rachel."

He chuckled lightly before looking at her seriously. "What's going on with you tonight, anyway? Were you really feeling sick earlier?"

"Yeah," she said, looking slightly annoyed, "but I'm okay, Luke. You don't need to worry about every little thing."

He knew that he didn't, but the thought of Brooke being sick or hurt or sad in any sort of way didn't sit well with him at all.

Taking her hand, he quickly placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'm just looking out for you, Brooke..."

They were silent for a moment as she leant her head against his chest and he rubbed slow circles on her back. Touching her like this was one of the things he had missed most while being away from her and now that he could actually do it again, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle being away from her any longer.

Suddenly he remembered the conversation he and Haley had had a few weeks ago. He was only here for the weekend and he knew that he and Brooke would need to find the time to talk about what he and Haley had discussed. Tonight was not the night to do that, but tomorrow he would make sure they could get some proper alone time so that they could finally discuss it.

"I've missed you so much, pretty girl," he muttered into her ear, before placing slow kisses down her neck. She immediately loosened up, craning her neck to allow him to reach all the right places.

"Mmm, I've missed you, too. I've missed _this_."

He grinned and moved closer towards her face. His lips pressed lightly against hers and he smiled against them. Cupping her face in his hands, he looked deeply into her eyes before kissing her again, this one filled with much more fervency than before. Her mouth opened, allowing his tongue entrance and he found himself lost in all that was Brooke Davis.

And then she pulled away.

He looked at her in desperation. She couldn't leave him hanging any longer. He _needed_ her.

"Lucas," she said, her voice just barely a whisper, "Peyton is just down the hall. This isn't going to work."

He sighed, know she was right. They couldn't risk Peyton _or_ Rachel walking in on them.

"You should probably head to your hotel, anyway. It's getting late."

"Alright," he said in disappointment, "but tomorrow we're going to find a way to be alone for more than just a few minutes."

She chuckled softly. "We'll see." She pulled him by the shirt and kissed him one last time.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said huskily.

"Yeah," he murmured, mesmerized by every move she made, "okay…"

He turned away and headed towards the door before looking back at her. "I'm taking you out to dinner tomorrow night, okay?"

She smiled and nodded. "That sounds great, Lucas."

"I'll see you tomorrow…And hey, I love you."

"I love you, too, boyfriend."

He quietly left the room, looking around the dark hall to make sure that no one was up, and headed out of the apartment.

Tomorrow would be a great day, he decided as he slipped into a taxi. He would get to spend it with Brooke and Peyton and probably Rachel and he already knew that no matter what it would be enjoyable. But tomorrow night, with just himself and Brooke…well, tomorrow night would be amazing.

**A/N: **Hey everyone! It's gonna be a little while before I can update again. I don't know how long for sure, but it might be about a week, possibly more. I'm really sorry about all this, but I hope this chapter satisfies you all for awhile. Thanks so much for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"So, that's pretty much what I've been doing the past few months…"

Lucas sat on the bench, his arm draped across the back of the seat, and stared around the huge park. He had always been fond of Central Park, probably because it had seemed so out of place in a city like New York. It was comforting, though; it reminded him a just little bit of home.

"You've been busy," he said, focusing his attention back on the blonde sitting next to him.

"Yeah," Peyton said, shrugging casually. "I just needed to keep my mind off…other things."

He nodded slowly. He understood what she meant and he wasn't going to press her any further.

"The next time I come up, I'm definitely gonna have to check out that band of yours. From what I heard last night, they sounded amazing."

Her expression immedietly brightened and he listened intently as she started talking about her newest group of prodigies. But it wasn't long before he was distracted by the sight of a beautiful brunette headed his way. Brooke and Rachel were both carrying two cups of coffee and handed both him and Peyton one once they reached them.

Rachel squeezed herself in between Lucas and Peyton and Brooke hung off to the side, sipping her coffee.

"Are we ready to head back to your place?" Lucas asked. He had had a great day so far, and things hadn't been too awkward for him and Peyton, but it was getting late into the afternoon and he was ready to get some alone time with Brooke.

"Yeah, we probably should," Peyton said, taking a look at her cellphone. "It's almost four and I said I'd meet the guys at around five thirty."

"Business dinner?" Lucas asked curiously.

"Sort of," Peyton said as they all stood up and made their way through the park. "I've been trying for at least a month now to get them to sign, but throughout that time we've become pretty close, so we like to hang out before their shows."

"That Josh guy has totally got a thing for you, Peyton," Rachel said, taking a sip of her coffee. Lucas hid a laugh when Brooke not-so-subtly elbowed Rachel in the ribs. Rachel visibly cringed, but still cracked a smile, while Peyton looked awkwardly down at her feet.

"Who's Josh?" He knew he shouldn't be asking, but he was too curious.

"He's the bass player in the band," Rachel answered before Peyton got the chance.

Brooke was glaring at Rachel, shaking her head angrily as she stalked a few feet ahead of them. Lucas could understand why she was angry; Peyton wasn't ready to date and Rachel talking about it in front of Lucas must have been hard for her.

"I don't date potential clients."

"Clients?" Rachel asked. "Is that what you're calling them? It sounds so…businesslike."

Brooke looked like she was about to explode, but Lucas put a comforting hand on her shoulder, trying to let her know that it was okay and that Peyton could hold her own. This was Rachel, after all, and she was a good person with good intentions most of the time. Whatever she was trying to do to Peyton right now, it wasn't something that would hurt her.

Peyton eyed her warily. "Rachel, seriously, can you imagine me dating him, signing him onto the label, and then us breaking up? What do you think would happen then? They'd probably try to get out of the label, that's what would happen, and things would get really awkward. It's just not worth it. I mean, I like Josh, he's cute and talented and he's got a great taste in music, but it just wouldn't work. Plus, there's that tiny fact that I'm not dating right now and I have no desire to."

Rachel shrugged. "I'm just saying…If you don't take him, I definitely might."

Peyton shook her head and laughed, the tension from earlier draining from her face. "That fine with me."

Lucas smiled and looked over at Brooke, who still had an unhappy expression on her face. She was worried about Peyton, of course, but he wished she'd lighten up a little and realize that Peyton was doing just fine and that she didn't need to look out for her constantly. Selflessness and her loyalty to her friends were two of Brooke's greatest qualities, but at the same time it couldn't help but sometimes frustrate him—maybe because he was put on the backburner most of the time when it came to Peyton. He was the selfish one for being irritated by her selflessness, but sometimes he just couldn't help it.

By the time they made it back to the apartment, the earlier conversation was forgotten. Brooke even managed to look cheerful as they all through off their heavy coats and sat down on the couch.

"Lucas, next time you're here, we've got to make sure that you can see the band live," Peyton said casually.

He nodded. "Definitely."

"You've got a meeting with Lindsay tonight, right?" Rachel asked.

Was that what Brooke had told them—a meeting with Lindsay? He wished she had been honest and told them the truth. But then again, they would definitely think it was odd that he and Brooke were going to dinner together. It just wasn't something they'd normally do when everyone else was with them.

"Yeah," he said, nodding as he looked at Brooke from the corner of his eye. She was looking at anyone but him; obviously she wasn't comfortable with her lie.

"They don't come on until eleven tonight," Peyton said, "so if you're through by then feel free to stop by."

"Sure," he said, smiling politely. He knew there was little chance of him coming— he was going to use all the time alone with Brooke that he could get.

"Are you coming tonight, Brooke?" Rachel asked and Brooke looked up quickly in surprise.

"Oh," she said quickly, "I'm not sure. There're actually a few sketches I've been putting off, so I was thinking I might finish them up tonight."

Rachel didn't look completely satisfied with that answer, but surprisingly she kept her comments to herself.

"That's fine," Peyton said, looking oddly pleased and Lucas guessed it was because Brooke's looking out for her was starting to annoy her. "You've been to the past few shows, anyway."

"I'm gonna head to the hotel to get ready," Lucas said, standing up. "I'm leaving early tomorrow morning, so I guess this is goodbye for now."

He hugged all of them shortly, Brooke's a bit longer than the others, and they said their goodbyes before he quickly slipped out the door. He kept his cellphone in hand, planning to text Brooke in a few minutes to make sure she knew what was going on. His plans for tonight were simple: she would meet him at his hotel room and they would spend their night there, ordering room service and catching up…whatever that meant.

* * *

The vibration of her cell phone pulled her away from her thoughts and she quickly reached for her phone, which was sitting on the kitchen counter in front of her. Looking around for any sign of Peyton or Rachel, she quickly flipped open the phone, knowing who it was before she even looked at the number.

My hotel- room 509. As soon as you can be there. I love you. –Lucas

She wasn't surprised that he would want to her to come to his hotel and she also wouldn't be surprised if they would be spending the rest of the night there. There was no complaining on her side, though. The idea of a whole night with Lucas made her happier than she'd been since…well, since she'd last been in Tree Hill with him.

"When are you leaving?" Brooke asked Rachel as she came into the kitchen a few minutes later.

She shrugged as she ducked her head into the fridge. "I don't know yet. Why?"

"Just wondering." Brooke smiled at her lightly.

Rachel peered out from the fridge and looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You've been acting weird today," she said matter-of-factly, grabbing an apple and leaning against the counter.

Brooke looked at her in amusement, trying her very best to keep her cool and look as innocent as possible. She couldn't let Rachel know that anything was going on.

"Yeah? How so?"

"I don't know…" She stared at her with narrowed eyes, her gaze penetrating. "You've just been kind of… squeamish."

Brooke kinked an eyebrow and let out a soft laugh. "Squeamish? Okay..."

"No," she said quickly, "I mean you've been squeamish around Lucas. Like you're nervous around him for some reason."

"Can you talk any louder?" Brooke whispered urgently as she pointed towards the hallway.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Peyton left ten minutes ago. God, you've been in your own little world lately, Brooke."

She sighed in relief. Now that Peyton wasn't here, there was no need to worry about her overhearing any of Rachel's annoying comments or theories about why she was acting so odd around Lucas.

"Anyway," Rachel said after Brooke made no move to reply, "I'm thinking that you're only nervous because you're worried about how you feel for him. It makes you nervous around him. I understand that. But…"

Brooke glanced at her warily. At the rate Rachel was going, she was bound to figure something out. And to make it worse, there was very little Brooke could actually do to stop her. Like Haley, Rachel was very observant and she could very easily take a certain situation and easily dissect it.

"But?"

"But Lucas had been acting kind of weird, too. He never stops staring at you whenever you're near him and he always seems so sad to see you go whenever you leave the room or go somewhere else. He seems kind of attached to you. It's actually kind of cute."

"We're really good friends, Rachel," she said exasperatingly. "He's actually one of my best friends and we like to take advantage of being with each other whenever we get the chance."

Rachel shook her head and looked at her with a fed up expression. "That a horrible excuse and you know it. A friend doesn't look at his other friend like that. Brooke, he looked like he was in love with you."

Brooke sighed. "Well, maybe he is, I don't know, but can you please stop butting into my life? It's getting really annoying."

Rachel laughed and shook her head. "Brooke, when you invited me to live with you, you basically gave me permission to butt into your life. It's just the way it is, so live with it."

There was really no point in arguing with Rachel's logic, so she decided to let her have her way. Instead, she focused on trying to figure out the best way to escape without Rachel noticing. It was practically an impossible task; Rachel was way too observant for her own good and that always made it next to impossible for Brooke to hide anything from her.

As of right now she had three options: one, wait for Rachel to leave (and knowing Rachel it could be awhile); two, make up some sort of excuse about having to go somewhere (it would never work though—once again Rachel was too observant and she had never been very gullible); or three, she could tell Rachel everything.

Now that she thought about it, Rachel knowing about her and Lucas would solve a lot of problems. Rachel loved secrets, although she wasn't always the best at keeping them, and she would find the idea of Brooke and Lucas' secret relationship incredibly interesting. And if Rachel knew, there was a big chance that Brooke could spend the whole night with Lucas, since she knew that she wouldn't have to worry about Rachel being suspicious. She didn't need to worry about Peyton noticing she was missing; whenever she got home from nights like this she practically fell into bed and slept till noon. Rachel was Brooke's prime concern and the idea of telling her everything was becoming more appealing by the second.

There were the negative aspects to think about, though. Rachel had grown more trustworthy as the years went by, but there was always the smallest chance that she could let it slip out and Brooke wasn't sure she could risk it. She also felt like she was betraying Peyton even more if Peyton wasn't the first one to know about her and Lucas.

But in the end, the positives outweighed the negatives and Brooke decided that it was time for Rachel to know the truth.

"So, here's the deal," Brooke said before she could back out of her decision, "I'm going to tell you something right now and you've got to promise me that you will not tell a soul. This information cannot leave this room until I give you my permission, do you understand?"

"You slept with him," Rachel said immedietly, her eyes widening in understanding.

It was just like Rachel to come to a conclusion like that. The funny thing this time, though, was that she was right. Brooke just sat there for a moment, not really knowing what to say. In the end, she settled for simply nodding.

"I totally knew it," Rachel said proudly, looking at Brooke with a pleased expression. "So, are you guys together or what?"

"Um… Yeah. I guess. But no one can know. You, me, and him are the only three people in this world who know and it has to stay that way until I know that Peyton is ready."

Rachel's smile couldn't have grown any wider. "You and Lucas are secretly dating? Oh, you are a naughty girl, Brooke Davis. I thought you'd lost your spark, but it's still there, as bright as ever."

Brooke laughed and rubbed her forehead wearily. "I'm going to meet him at his hotel tonight, so I'm going to need you to cover for me if Peyton asks about anything."

"So that's why you were so eager for me to leave." Rachel nodded her head in obvious approval. "Well, you are free to go, Brooke. Go see your man."

Brooke smiled and got up to leave. "Seriously, though, Rachel, I need to know that you won't tell anybody."

Rachel's expression turned suddenly serious. "You can trust me, Brooke. I know I've put you through a lot and I've been a horrible friend at times, but this is something that I'll take with me to the grave if you need me to. Of course, it won't come to that, but I'd do it if you wanted me to. I give you my word."

"Thanks, Rachel," she said sincerely, walking back towards her and pulling her into a hug. Rachel may be slightly irritating at times but Brooke could always depend on her and this time was no different.

"No problem," Rachel said, shrugging lightly. "Now, what did I tell you? Get out of here."

Brooke's mind felt suddenly lighter as she strode happily out of her apartment and out into the city.

Rachel knew and now she didn't have to depend on just herself and Lucas to keep this whole thing a secret. And this was a big step. Now that Rachel knew, she knew that it would only be a matter of time before she would tell Peyton.

She could only hope that Peyton would react a fraction of the same way Rachel had. It was almost useless to think that, but she could still pray, right?

**A/N: **I'm so sorry for the wait! I'm back for good, but I'll be starting school soon so hopefully that won't take up too much of my time. I'm sorry for cutting off this chapter here. I was originally planning on continuing on to Lucas' hotel room, but I'm leaving that for the next chapter. Also, I'm going to be starting a little Peyton storyline the next chapter, so it'll be told from her POV. It won't take up much room in the story, though, after all, this is a Brucas story, but I thought it might spice up the story a bit ;D.

**Special Announcement: **This story was nominated at One Tree Hill Awards for the best Brucas story. I'm not sure how much longer voting will last (I just figured out about this today), but if any of you want to go on over and vote, the link to the website is over on my profile. Thanks in advance if you decide to vote!

Thanks so much to all those who reviewed while I was away! I wasn't able to reply to many of them but I just wanted to thank every single person for all of your feedback so far. This story would be nowhere without you all.

On that note, please remember to review and thanks so much for reading!


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Peyton looked around the club with a smile on her face. The place was almost full and people actually seemed excited about the upcoming performance. It was a relatively small club where mostly unknown bands played, but it was a great place to start and it paid pretty well.

"I think this is the biggest crowd we've seen in a while."

She turned around in her seat to look at the guy standing behind her.

"I know. It's great isn't it?"

He sat down next to her and took the drink she offered him. "It's amazing," he agreed, smiling crookedly at her. "You've done some amazing things for us these past few months, Peyton. I honestly don't know where we'd be without you."

She shrugged and waved him off. "You'd be fine. You guys are talented and I'm willing to bet that you're gonna make it big, whether it's with me or not. And either way I'll be happy."

"It'll be with you," he said, his voice firm. "Rob and Aaron just need a little bit more convincing. They love you; they just don't love the idea of leaving New York. Soon they'll realize that if they want to make it big, it's inevitable that we'll have to leave the city."

"I still feel bad though," she said, taking a sip of her drink.

"Don't," he said, looking at her intently. "They're idiots if they think we can stick around here much longer. Offers like yours don't come around everyday."

She laughed. "They're not idiots, Josh. They're just a bit…naïve."

He smiled and looked over at the two younger guys standing towards the stage, talking intently to Ed, the other member of the band. "They're young," he said, "and they're momma's boys, but they'll come around."

Josh was probably right. They were just nervous about really entering the music business. Rob and Aaron were twin brothers who had grown up in a sheltered family, always looking to their parents for support, particularily their mother. She had been surprised to learn this about them—Rob didn't look like the kind of guy that cared about what his parents thought, although Aaron was a different story. They were talented, too. Rob was their drummer and Aaron was one of the guitarists. Ed was the lead singer and lead guitarist, and he was all for leaving the city and heading down to Tree Hill to really start their music careers.

All of them, along with Josh, had started their band about two years ago, when they were in their senior year of high school. They were definitely good, although like all bands they had their flaws, but the moment Peyton saw them performing in a small, virtually unknown club in Brooklyn, she had known that they were destined for greatness—just like she had known for Mia.

It was for that reason (at least one of the reasons), that she was waiting to return to Tree Hill. She knew that if she could get them to sign on to Red Bedroom Records, she could really get back on track again and they could get on track as well. It was a win, win situation. Plus, during the past few months, she had grown attached to all the guys. They were fun and their taste in music was great. She had gone to almost every one of their gigs since she had been in New York and they had crowned her their manager only a few days after they met. She wasn't officially their manager, but they liked to think she was.

She looked at Josh, who was smiling at her from his seat next to her. She couldn't deny that she felt an attraction to him. He was insanely cute and funny – and sometimes a bit obnoxious when he was with the boys— and more talented than she could have believed. But he was also very sweet and sensitive, something she found very attractive.

Sometimes he reminded her of Lucas, with his similar taste in music and the way she and him could sit down and talk for hours about their favorite bands or songs, but that's where the similarities stopped. They couldn't have looked more different. Josh was fairly short, only standing a few inches above her, and he had shaggy dark brown hair that fell to his shoulders. He had a cute pointed nose and was always clean-shaven, despite his messy hair. He was handsome, she couldn't deny that, and she knew that if she was ready to date, then she'd definitely consider him.

But she wasn't, so there was really no point in thinking about it.

Still, she wasn't sure if she would be able to deny him if he ever asked her out. He was just too…great for her to pass up. So, for her sake, she hoped he wouldn't try something. He knew her story and he knew that she wasn't ready.

"Looks like we're on in five minutes," Ed said, coming up behind them.

Josh grinned. "Big crowd, eh?"

"It's awesome." Rob said, as he and Aaron joined them. "Seriously, Peyton, I'm still speechless that you were able to get us in here."

"She's incredible," Josh agreed. She tried to hide the blush that was forming on her cheeks but she knew that in the end it was useless.

"Really, guys, it was no problem. I know a guy who knows a guy who knows the guy who owns this place. I've got connections."

"You sure do," Ed chuckled, patting her on the back. "Man, we've been on a role ever since we met you, Manager."

Ed had recently taken a liking to calling her Manager instead of Peyton. It wasn't too unique of a nickname, but she found that she liked it.

She smiled nonchalantly and shrugged. "Like I said, I've got connections. You guys better get a move on, though; you've only got a couple of minutes before show time."

"Right," Ed said. "Wish us luck." He grinned down at Peyton winked.

Ed was one of the tallest guys she knew and so she wasn't surprised to hear that he had been a basketball player in high school. He'd been offered a scholarship to many good schools because of this, but had given them all up for the band. That was another one of the reasons Peyton wanted to sign them so badly—she wanted Ed's sacrifices to really be worth while.

"Hey, is Rachel gonna be here?" Aaron asked as Rob and Ed headed backstage. His expression was hopeful as he waited for Peyton to answer. Right from the start it had been clear that he had a thing for her crazy friend, but he was three years younger than Rachel and when Peyton had mentioned Aaron's little crush she had laughed it off.

"He's cute," she'd said, "but I like older men, if you know what I mean."

Aaron was a bit of a nerd, that couldn't be denied. He and Rob couldn't have been more different. Rob, with his long blond hair that he always kept in a pony tail, was wild and feisty. He was a charmer with the girls— during the short time Peyton had known him, he'd had more girlfriends than she could count. Aaron was modest and cute with his short, spiky blond hair and gentle green eyes. He was friendly, if not a bit awkward, and sometimes she found that he reminded her a bit of Mouth.

"I think she'll be here," she replied, looking towards the door for any sight of the redhead.

"Good," Aaron said, looking pleased. "I'll have to stop by and say hi after the show."

Josh chuckled lightly as he watched Aaron go. He stood up quickly and turned to look at her. "I'd better get going," he said, smiling lightly at her as he ran a hand through his hair.

"You're gonna do great," Peyton said, putting a comforting hand on his arm.

"Thanks," he said, his smile crooked as he shoved his hands down his pockets. "I'll see you after the show."

She nodded slowly and watched him as he quickly retreated backstage. Looking around the room, she realized just how happy she was. She felt like she was really complete when she was with the guys; like she had found her purpose. More than anything, though, she felt safe. She was tucked safely away from Lucas and Tree Hill and anything that could bring back the insecurities that she hated so much.

And, even though she knew it could never last, right now it was enough for her.

* * *

Her breathing came short and quick as she lay with him in his bed, their bodies a tangle of limbs. She was laying on her back and he on his side. His warm breath trickled into her ear, making her shiver.

They hadn't eaten a bit of the food that Lucas had ordered from room service when she had first arrived and she found the smell of the now cold pizza enticing. She didn't want to move from his hold; the feel of his arms wrapped around her body was too great to give up. But she was starving and she was pretty sure if she didn't eat something soon she'd die of hunger. Okay, that was a slight exaggeration, but her stomach was rumbling like crazy. She was actually surprised he hadn't noticed.

"I'm starving, Luke," Brooke whispered into his ear. Even though his eyes were closed, he chuckled lightly.

"So am I." He opened his eyes and untwisted himself from her before jumping off the bed and towards the table that held their food. "Cold pizza or cold chicken?"

"Both," she replied, a large smile on her face.

He grinned. "Sounds good."

He quickly piled two plates with food and hopped back on the bed, setting their plates on the bed carefully. She immediately reached for him, pulling his naked chest towards her body. She wasn't sure how she was going to handle him leaving again, not after this. Sometime during the few hours she'd been here, she'd thought about going back with him and leaving Peyton behind with Rachel, but she knew that it wasn't time yet. She didn't feel right about leaving Peyton, no matter how well she seemed to be doing. Just a few more months and she was sure Peyton would be ready. And if she wasn't she would leave. She just couldn't be away from Tree Hill or Lucas any longer than that.

"So…" he said slowly as she took a big bite of the pizza.

She looked at him curiously. "So…?"

He grinned and kissed her cheek before looking down at his plate of food. "I've been thinking."

"Really?" she said, acting shocked.

He just rolled his eyes. "I really think I should stay a few extra days."

"Lucas," she said calmly, "we've been through this before. A weekend is all that Peyton can deal with right now."

"You say that," he said, sitting up straighter, "but you don't know that for sure. She and I are doing really good, Brooke. Just let me stay a few more days."

She shook her head. "You've already booked your flight."

"I can easily change it."

"Luke…" Her voice had a warning tone to it now and she did not want him to argue with her any more than they already were.

"Brooke…" His voice had an equally challenging tone to it.

"Listen," she said, thinking quickly, "I'll visit Tree Hill in a few weeks, okay? And who knows, maybe Peyton will be ready to come home by then."

Lucas didn't look convinced. "At the rate you're babying her, I wouldn't bet on it."

She raised an eyebrow, her face twisted into an annoyed expression. "I do not baby her."

He shook his head and chuckled. "You do, Brooke. You can't deny that."

She thought about it. She knew that she had a habit of checking up on Peyton constantly and make sure no one said anything that might trigger some bad memories, but it wasn't like she was constantly pressuring Peyton into talking about her feelings. Peyton did her thing and she let her—she saw no problem with that. There was no way that Brooke could move things along any faster.

"Brooke," he said quietly, and he pulled her close to him again. She rested her head on his chest, "I'm not saying that you're doing a bad job because you're doing amazing, but let's face it, Peyton doesn't need you here. She's grown so much more independent recently, which is a good thing, and I honestly think that she's doing great. But, since you insist on staying with her, you've got to talk to her about everything more often. Peyton told me that you and her barely ever talk about it."

"I don't want to pressure her," she said defensively, removing her head from his chest.

He nodded slowly and looked down at her with an understanding expression. "I know you don't, but in this case I really think it could help."

She looked at him, not really sure what to believe. On one hand, she was sure that Peyton was getting closer and closer to being ready to go home; Lucas' visit had probably helped, too. But on the other hand, she knew that Lucas was right about her and Peyton not talking about the whole thing enough. Ignoring the problem wasn't the answer, she knew that.

So she sighed and moved her head back to his chest. "You're probably right," she murmured, letting him gently stroke her back. "I talked to her about you when I came back from Tree Hill a month ago, but until you came it's almost been a taboo subject…I'll make sure I bring it up after you leave."

"I just want you to come home, Brooke," he said simply.

"I know…And I will, I promise."

It was silent for a moment as they both finished their food and thought about their conversation. Lucas was squinting down at his food with a thoughtful expression and she knew right away that something else was on his mind.

"What's going on through that head of yours?" she asked, running her fingers through his short hair.

He slowly looked up from his food, his gaze piercing as his eyes fell on her. "I had a talk with Haley the other day and it got me thinking about something." He took a deep breathe, one of hands running along her back and the other through her hair. It was a few moments before he spoke again. "Brooke, I've hurt you… quite a few times."

The moment he said those words, she tried to interrupt—she needed him to know that it was fine, that it was the past and that she didn't blame him for anything bad that happened between them—but he held up his hand in protest.

"No, this is something I need to say. I've hurt you and you've forgiven me every time. I don't deserve you, Brooke, I really don't, and I want you to know that I never plan on hurting you ever again. I know that people always end up temporarily hurt in relationships, it's just apart of being a couple, but I just wanted you to know that I will never intentionally hurt you."

"Lucas," she said quietly, after he paused for a moment, "I know that. I've hurt you too, remember? We forgave each other then and I know that we'll forgive each other in the future too."

"I know, but I still needed you to know…Brooke, I'm so in love with you and I've never been so sure of anything in my entire life. But I also want you to know that I want this. I know that I've chosen Lindsay and Peyton in the past but they were the easy choices. Things always seem harder with you and me and that's not a bad thing, it just means that we don't ignore our problems until they come exploding into our lives and ruin everything. And that's what happened with Peyton. We never talked about our problems and in the end that was one of the main reasons we never worked. Brooke, I had healthier relationship with you in high school than I ever did with Peyton and even Lindsay. And it's good to talk about our problems, even if it causes a few fights in between. That's one of the things I always loved about us."

Brooke looked at him, her eyes narrowed as she waited for him to continue. The look on his face reminded her of the night when she had brought all of her letters she had wrote to him to his house—the night he had forgiven her for sleeping with Chris Keller and they had gotten back together.

"I just…I hope you can understand how serious I am about you and me. I'd marry you right now if you'd have me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And I'm not proposing, because God knows you wouldn't say yes when we're not even together in the eyes of everyone else, but I'm promising you that someday soon I will. And I hope you say yes, because I know that my life without you in it is meaningless. I love you and I need you more than anything else in this entire world. You're the girl for me, Brooke Davis, and I'm the guy for you."

She felt tears brimming in the corner of her eyes and she hastily brushed them away. He had hurt her in the past, yes, but his speech to her was sincere and she knew that the words he spoke were truer than any time before. He was practically proposing to her, after all, and she'd marry him in a second if they didn't have so many obstacles in their way. But their time would come and it would be soon and she didn't want anything more.

"I trust you, Lucas," she said, looking up at him with a small smile. A tear escaped her eye, but this time she didn't push it away. It fell slowly down her cheek and landed on her arm.

He looked at her fiercely, his eyes filled with determination and love, and gently brushed the tears from her cheeks. "I won't let you down this time, Brooke."

"I know you won't."

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body as close to him as possible. They sat there like that, wrapped in each others arms, for what felt like hours. They were both lost inside their own thoughts, but she knew that there was one thing that they both were thinking: this was it for them, there was no one else.

It was Brooke and Lucas forever. And that was just the way she liked it.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

The sun was just coming up when she got home the next morning. It was nearly six in the morning and she had just sent Lucas off in his taxi to the airport. She was incredibly tired, to say the least, but she was also insanely happy. Her night with Lucas had been amazing in all senses of the word, but what had made her the happiest was that they had talked, _really_ talked, about some of their relationship. It made everything about them so much more real. The fact alone that he wanted to marry her meant a lot to her, but what meant even more was how sincere he was; his actions and expressions the whole night told her that he didn't want to leave her ever again and she trusted him wholeheartedly.

It had been hard at first, to know that she could really trust him, but she knew that at the end of the day she _needed_ to. He was the only person in this world who she had ever loved this way and, in that aspect, trust was essential, no matter how hard it was.

She cracked open the door, peaking in to make sure no one was up. Once she saw that the coast was clear, she slipped through the door and into her apartment.

But apparently it wasn't as empty as she thought. Josh, one of the guys in the band Peyton was trying to recruit, was in the living room, asleep on the couch. She was a bit surprised at seeing him there alone—he had come over plenty of times and he'd stayed the night a few times, but never by himself. She wondered if just him and Peyton had hung out together after the show and if something just might be going on between the two of them.

She moved stealthily through the living room, trying her best to navigate safely throughout the dimly lit room without making too much noise.

"Brooke?"

She held back a groan and squinted down at Josh, who was looking up at her from the couch in surprise.

"Sorry to wake you," she whispered. "You can go back to sleep."

He cracked a small smile. "Rachel said you were asleep when Peyton and I got back, but it looks like you're just coming in."

Why was everyone in her life so observant?

"Yeah…" Brooke muttered, her heart thumping wildly in her chest, "Um, I had to drop off a friend at the airport. You didn't hear me leave?"

He looked mildly confused and she didn't blame him. In New York City, land of a billion taxis, there was no need to drive a friend to the airport at this time of morning.

"Lucas was visiting," she continued, for some reason feeling the need to explain, "and he asked me to go with him to the airport. New York is kind of overwhelming for him, so I said yes."

He nodded slowly. "Hey, it's your business. No need to explain."

"That's what really happened," she said forcefully, and in a way it really was.

"Whatever," he replied, a smile still on his face as he closed his eyes. "Oh, and thanks for letting me crash on your couch, even though I didn't ask."

She chuckled lightly and turned towards the hallway. "It's Peyton's house too. But you're welcome, anyway."

Her bed was a welcoming sight. She pulled off her jacket and fell onto it, embracing the feel of her warm blanket and soft mattress. She wasn't sure she could be more tired, probably because she and Lucas had only achieved maybe an hour or two of sleep before he had had to check out of his room and head off to the airport.

Watching him leave had been hard. Knowing that he was going home to Jamie and Haley and Nathan made her wish that she could go with him and be with the people she missed so much. It was then that she made the decision that she would stay in New York for a couple more weeks and then go home for good. She just couldn't be away from home any longer, no matter how badly she felt about leaving Peyton. Peyton would understand, she knew that, but that didn't stop her from feeling guilty.

It's just how it had to be. Tree Hill was her home and everyone there was her family. Peyton would come around soon and realize the same thing, but she knew it would take some time—more time than she was willing to give.

Brooke wasn't sure how Peyton would react to her leaving. She doubted she'd be angry. She'd actually probably be a little happy and try to act nonchalant, as bad as it sounded. She wasn't the most independent girl Brooke knew, but like Lucas had said, Peyton had learned how to rely on herself during her stay in New York so far and, like it or not, she didn't need Brooke anymore.

And, as bad as she felt for feeling it, Brooke was kind of happy for that.

* * *

A sharp shove on her back awoke her from her sleep. She groaned as she twisted around in her bed, untangling herself from the sheets, and blinked through the practically blinding light to look at the figure that was currently jumping on her bed.

"Seriously, Rachel? Jumping on the bed is a bit juvenile, don't you think?"

"Oh, get over it," Rachel said cheerfully as she stopped jumping and laid down next to Brooke. "It's almost one in the afternoon. Since when do you sleep in so late?"

"Since I got home at six in the morning and got about an hour of sleep before that."

"Right," Rachel said, her voice lowering to a whisper as she looked at Brooke mischievously, "you were with Lucas. How'd that go, anyway?"

"Fine," Brooke said casually as she slowly sat up. "Is Peyton here? I need to talk to her."

"No, she left with Josh a couple of hours ago…I can't believe you got mad at me yesterday for joking about Josh and Peyton when it's so obvious that they're into each other."

"Peyton's not ready to date. She said so herself."

"Yeah, in front of Lucas. She probably didn't want to make him feel awkward about her dating someone else."

Brooke sighed and shook her head. "I really don't think that'd make him feel awkward. I think he'd just be happy to know that she's moved on. But what was Josh doing here last night, anyway?"

Rachel's smile widened as she looked cockily at Brooke. "She and Josh had drinks together after the show and then she invited him over to listen to some new song from one of her favorite bands." Rachel shook her head at the memory. "I swear, they're such geeks."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "I think it's sweet that Peyton's found a guy that's _not_ Lucas who's into the same things she is. Maybe she can finally move on."

"So now you agree with me!" Rachel had a huge smirk on her face, but Brooke wasn't about to let her get her way.

"I agree that it's probably time for Peyton to move on," she explained, "whether that means dating or Josh or someone else."

"But you agree she and Josh are good together?"

"Rachel," she said, a small smile forming on her lips, "I think pretty much any guy is good for her, as long as it's not Lucas."

Rachel laughed. "Of course you would say that. I can't say that I blame you, though. Anyway, tell me about your night with Lucas!"

"Do you honestly think I'd tell you about it?" Brooke said, kinking an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah." Rachel looked at her expectantly and Brooke chuckled lightly.

"Well, I'll spare you most of the details, but it was nice. We had a good talk and I really think that what we have is going to last. He's the guy I'm going to spend the rest of my life with and he and I both kind of acknowledged that last night. So it was good and it was definitely productive…And I kind of made a huge decision."

Rachel sat up quickly, her face perking up with barely contained curiosity. "What?"

"I'm going back to Tree Hill in a few weeks. For good."

She couldn't say that Rachel looked surprised at this announcement. Instead she looked disappointed. "Oh. I thought you were gonna say you two were engaged or something."

"What? Rachel, why are you acting like this isn't a big deal? I'm leaving New York for good in a couple of weeks, whether Peyton comes or not. That's a pretty big decision, don't you think."

"I don't know about _big_," Rachel replied, shrugging lightly. "I knew the moment you told me that you and Lucas were together that you wouldn't be able to last much longer without him. I figured you'd give in pretty soon."

"Oh… Well, then I guess that it wasn't such a huge announcement for you. It will be for Lucas, though. I think I'm gonna surprise him and let him think I'm just visiting when I go back."

"He'll love that. I'm curious on what you plan to do once you move back, though. I mean, you can't keep the whole thing a secret for much longer, can you?"

Rachel had a big point— that was something she couldn't deny. Honestly, she had no idea what she and Lucas would do once she returned home. Maybe she would need to tell Peyton before she left. Maybe Peyton was finally ready…

"I'm an _idiot_!"

Rachel and Brooke both jumped at the sound of Peyton's loud voice and the slam of a door. For a moment Brooke thought that Peyton had heard everything, but then she realized that her friend's traumatized sounding voice was coming from the living room.

She and Rachel shared a confused look and headed quickly out of her room to figure out what was going on. Peyton was lying on the couch, her face contorted with anger.

Brooke looked at her curiously. "Um…"

"Josh asked me out."

Okay, that explained a little. Brooke was about to ask what the problem was, but Peyton interrupted her with a loud groan.

"He freaking asked me out to dinner and I said yes. God, could I get any stupider?"

"Oh, this is getting _good_!" Rachel exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

Brooke quickly glared at her before turning to Peyton. "I don't really think you're—."

"Do you know what this means?" Peyton was starting to sound hysterical. "It means that I'm gonna actually have to go out with him!"

"That's what usually happens when you say yes to a date."

"Rachel, you are _so_ not helping!" Brooke cried, her voice rising with frustration.

"This is horrible, Brooke! I can't _date_ someone, especially not Josh. I'm not ready…I'm not…it can't work."

"Peyton," Brooke said, sitting down on the couch and allowing Peyton's legs to rest on her lap, "stop freaking out for a second and hear me out, okay? You've spend all this time saying that you're not ready to date, but maybe you are. I mean, you're over Lucas, right? So, who's to say that you're not ready?"

"Yeah… I just…" Peyton sounded much calmer now. "It's just too weird, I guess. Josh is amazing, I'm not gonna lie, but… Okay, say I'm ready to date, right? I still won't be able to fully devote myself to a relationship right now, so I can't string him along you know? If he wants one date with me, he's probably going to want another and I can't do anything serious right now."

"You're worried you're gonna get your heart broken again," Rachel said, her face serious as she looked at Peyton with a look of understanding.

It wasn't a question, it was a statement and Brooke knew immediately that Rachel was right. Peyton was still hurting incredibly after her breakup with Lucas and she didn't ever want to feel that way again. And who could blame her?

Peyton shrugged helplessly and heaved a big sigh.

"Oh, Peyton," Brooke said, pulling her best friend into a hug, "I know that you've been hurt so many times, but sometimes you just have to take a risk. You can start fresh with Josh. You two don't have a history like you and Lucas did. And who knows? Maybe Josh is the guy for you."

Peyton didn't seem completely convinced. "I don't know… It's just been a couple of months… I'm not ready. I'm just not."

She understood Peyton's hesitation and knew it was best to support her decision rather than pressure her. Rachel, on the other hand, didn't feel the same way.

"Go on a date with him, Peyton, and tell him exactly where you stand. You and Josh are good friends and he'll understand. Tell him that if he's serious about you then he's going to have to wait a little while and that you can't fully commit to him right now. In my opinion, that's what you need to do."

"That actually sounds like a good plan," Brooke said, and it really did. She looked at Peyton for some sort of reaction.

"I'll think about it," Peyton finally said, lying back on the couch. She looked a little bit more relaxed and Brooke decided that it was time to let the subject drop.

"So…"

She wasn't sure if she should bring up the fact that she was planning on moving back to Tree Hill right now—not after Peyton's almost meltdown.

"So, Brooke's moving back to Tree Hill soon."

And Rachel did it again. For what felt like the hundredth time that night, Brooke glared at the redhead.

"Thanks, Rach," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Rachel shrugged and cast a smile her way. "No problem."

When she looked down at Peyton to see her reaction, she was only slightly surprised to see her smiling.

"Finally getting tired of waiting for me, huh?" Peyton asked with a smirk on her face.

"Well, you'll come around eventually," Brooke said, "but I think it's time for me to go home. You're doing well, Peyton, you really are."

"I've been trying to tell you that for weeks now."

"I just want to make sure that you'll come back, though," Brooke said, looking at Peyton seriously. "New York isn't your home."

"I will come home, Brooke," Peyton said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I promise you that. I left everything back home and I'm not letting my own business go to waste. It's too expensive to rent anything out here, anyway."

Brooke pulled Peyton into another hug. "That's what I like to hear."

Now that she knew Peyton was okay with her leaving, she felt much better. Everything was slowly coming into place; Peyton was getting closer and closer to really moving on, Brooke was moving back to Tree Hill, Rachel knew about her and Lucas, and soon Peyton would be ready to know too.

Yes, everything was good. For now, at least.

**A/N:** I know this chapter was kind of short, but I thought it was the best place to end it. Okay, next chapter is going to be the start of something big. And I think most of you will really like it. That's all I'm gonna say. ;D

**A special message to _Lena_ (and everyone else who may not like the Peyton storyline):** First of all, thanks for reviewing! I really do appreciate you being honest about the whole Peyton storyline, and I will take your suggestions into consideration. The thing is, I've had this storyline planned in my head from the beginning, I just didn't know if I'd write about it or not and in the end I decided I would. I know that a lot of Brucas/Brooke fans hate Peyton, and I sometimes hate her too, but I figured that you guys might not hate her as much if she isn't obsessed with Lucas. The Peyton in the story is over Lucas and she is no longer a threat to Brucas, just to make it clear. Her SL in this story will not be major and I'm not planning on it taking up half a chapter again (I'm sorry about that, by the way—I kind of got carried away!). So, I promise to keep it the Peyton SL to a minimum! Once again, thank you so much for reviewing!! If you ever see something you don't like again, please don't hesitate to tell me. Constructive criticism is what shapes better authors and therefore better stories, so any advice or opinions you can give is appreciated!


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

During her stay in New York, Brooke had gotten back to the work schedule that she had had back when she actually used to live there. So, now that she was leaving again, she knew that her presence at the office was going to be sorely missed. This was mostly because without her or her mother, who had been the CEO of Clothes Over Bros before Brooke had fired her, her workers were struggling to get used to their new positions and higher demanding tasks.

It was for these reasons that she had chosen to focus on her company for the next week before she was set to return home. She had notified her staff that she would be returning to Tree Hill a few days ago and not many of them had been very enthusiastic.

"I hated Victoria, but I had to work about ten times less when she was around. To tell you the truth, the past few months you've been here have been like a vacation. And that's not saying a lot."

That was what Jennifer, Brooke's secretary, had said to her after she heard Brooke's announcement, and Brooke had heard many similar complaints from her other employees as well.

"I know that it's inconvenient," Brooke had sympathetically told her, "but you all will adjust."

That's exactly what she told all of her employees, as a matter of fact. There really wasn't much else she could say. She felt bad that she had to leave them all behind again and she knew that without Victoria, a lot of them had a much heavier workload, but it would get better in time. It had to.

The past few days had proven to be more stressful than she'd thought and had really taken a toll on her. Every night she would go home and fall right into bed, sleeping through the night into early the next morning when she would wake up and do it all over again.

So, it was easy to say that the week since Lucas had left had not been very easy, but she hadn't expected that today would end up so completely different than all the others…

* * *

Brooke was sitting in her chair in her office, scanning through some of her newest sketches, when Jennifer's voice came over the intercom.

"Miss Davis, you've got a call on line one."

She looked up from her sketches and glanced warily at the clock. It was 8:30 and she had been hoping to leave for the night in ten minutes.

"Who is it?" she asked in an exasperated tone.

"Lucas Scott."

Brooke immedietly perked up at the sound of his name. "Thanks, Jennifer, I've got it." She grabbed the phone, grinning widely as she spoke into it. "Hi there, boyfriend."

She could practically hear him smiling on the other line. "Hi, Pretty Girl. What's going on?"

"Oh, just another day at the office."

"You sound tired."

"Yeah," she said, sighing as she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, "I am."

"You've been working nonstop from what you've been telling me. Why don't you take a little break, maybe come down to Tree Hill for a couple of days?"

He sounded concerned and she couldn't blame him; he was pretty much in the dark about her moving back home and so he couldn't understand why she was focusing so much on work.

"Lucas, I've already got my ticket booked for next week, you know that."

"I know…I just miss you."

She smiled. "I miss you too, Lucas. Just one more week and we'll be together again."

"I can't wait."

"I've got a little surprise for you when I get back," she said, her voice husky, "and I really think your gonna like it."

She could hear him take a deep breath on his end and she knew that she was having an effect on him.

"Yeah?"

She was just about to respond when she heard a commotion in the hallway. Loud voices echoed through the hall, but she couldn't make out who it was.

"I'm gonna have to call you back," she told Lucas as she hung up and quickly headed towards the door. But before she could open it, the door swung open, revealing someone she really did _not_ want to see.

"_Victoria_."

She glared at her mother, who stood with a smirk just outside her door. Behind her was Jennifer, who looked very annoyed as she stared as she too glared at Victoria.

"I'm sorry, Miss Davis, I tried to stop—."

"I need to speak with my daughter _privately_," Victoria said sharply, turning to look at Jennifer before airily turning back to Brooke.

"It's okay, Jennifer," Brooke said, nodding quickly back to her, "you can go."

Jennifer, who was loyal to Brooke like Millicent but a bit feistier than Brooke's former assistant, looked at her hesitantly before glaring at Victoria one last time and turning to leave.

"I thought I made it clear," Brooke said, sitting on the edge of her desk, "that you weren't welcome here anymore."

"Oh, you did," Victoria said, smiling cockily at her, "but the thing that you keep forgetting is that this is _our_ company, Brooke. You make the designs and I do everything else."

"Yes, that's how it was before I _fired_ you. I don't need you anymore."

"I think you do." Victoria moved closer to her, folding her arms over her chest. "You see, after you fired me I made a few visits here while you were spending your time wasting away in Tree Hill, and what I saw wasn't pretty."

"You told me that the last time you came to beg for your job back," Brooke said in frustration, not really sure where her mother was going with this.

"I did, didn't I? And did you listen? No, you didn't. But, being the wonderful, caring mother that I am, I thought I'd come by and give you a second chance. Clothes Over Bros needs me, Brooke, you and I both know that."

Brooke looked at her incredulously. After everything she had done, how could she seriously expect to be taken back?

"You're crazy if you expect me to just take you back, _Mother_. I know what you did to Rachel—you told her to steal from me. You _told_ my _friend_ to take my money after I fired you. And you know what that proves? It proves that you don't care about me or the company, you only care about yourself. And you will _never_ work for me again."

Victoria stared at Brooke, her arrogant smile never leaving her face, while Brooke glared fiercely back at her. If this was a challenge Victoria wanted, then that was what she would get.

They remained silent for a few seconds before Victoria spoke.

"I hear you're moving back to Tree Hill."

Brooke clenched her jaw, but kept her mouth shut. Victoria obviously had something to say and it was no use to try to stop her.

"I think you're making a mistake."

Brooke let out a humorless chuckle. "I don't really care what you think."

"You're company's falling, Brooke. They're depending on you and you're letting them down by focusing on that small shop in Tree Hill. Clothes Over Bros will fail if you don't do something quick."

This was getting too much for her. She moved from her perch on the desk and sat in her chair. She rubbed her temple, trying to ignore the throbbing headache that had suddenly formed.

"I know my company," Brooke said, her voice soft and tired as she looked up at Victoria, "and I know our situation. We're struggling, but most companies go through that at one time or another. So, you can give me all the excuses that you want, but I'm not taking you back."

Victoria's smile was gone and Brooke felt relieved— it was a sign that Victoria was giving up, for now at least. And Brooke didn't have the energy to deal with her any longer.

Her headache was getting better, but now it felt like her stomach was turning in circles. She took a steady breath, but held her mother's gaze.

"You think what you want right now," Victoria said, her voice low as she looked at Brooke with narrowed eyes, "but when your company goes down the drain don't come crawling back to me."

She turned to leave, and Brooke sighed in relief. Headaches normally came along with the stress that came alone with Victoria Davis, but she found herself feeling increasingly nauseous as she watched her mother disappeared into the dark hallway.

Her hands gripped the desk tightly and she took a deep breath, trying to fight the suddenly strong urge to vomit. She remembered feeling this way once, back in fifth grade when she had had the stomach flu. It had been a horrible feeling— like your stomach was being turned roughly upside down and you could do nothing to stop it. It had lasted a few days and Brooke had never felt worse in her entire life. She hadn't gotten the stomach flu since.

There were footsteps coming back towards her office and she knew without looking that her mother had returned. "One more thing—."

She couldn't take it anymore. Ignoring her mother's presence, she grabbed the trash can on the side of her desk and ducked her head towards it, releasing what she felt like was the entire contents of her stomach.

The nauseous feeling did not go completely away, but she felt somewhat better. That is, until she looked up and saw her mother's horrified face.

"What is _wrong_ with you?"

Brooke shook her head in disbelief at the sound of Victoria's voice. She was acting like Brooke had committed a crime. Shouldn't a mother care that her daughter just thrown up in front of her. Shouldn't she be worried about her?

"Get out," Brooke said, her voice shaky as she looked at her mother, her face deadly serious. She wasn't going to take this anymore.

"Brooke—."

"Get _out_."

She didn't want to say it again and if she did, she didn't think she would be able to keep from screaming.

"Fine," Victoria said shortly. She turned to leave before stopping at the door. Brooke was about to tell her once again to leave, but she turned around quickly, her face suddenly soft with what might have been the tiniest hint of concern, and sighed. "I hope that you feel better."

There was something about the way that she said it that made Brooke resent her just a little bit less. There had been some concern, just enough to let her know that at least her mother cared a little bit. So, instead of angrily retorting, she just nodded.

She sat there, not really knowing what to think. Victoria was a bitch, that couldn't be denied, but she was still her mother and it made her feel a little bit better to know that she might actually care just a little bit about her well being. But then she thought about that fact that only a very small portion of her mother really cared about her and how money mattered more to Victoria than her own daughter and for some reason it set something off within her.

And she cried. She cried and cried for what felt like hours. She didn't know why this all seemed to be crashing down on her now; she'd known for a long time now how horrible her mother was, but for some reason it just really hurt tonight. She felt bad for herself and she hated it.

The ringing of her phone broke through her sobs and she slowly grabbed it, taking calming, deep breathes before answering.

"Hi." Her voice was shaky from crying and she felt like she had barely any strength left to speak.

"Brooke? What's going on?" Lucas' concerned voice rang in her ear. "You sound shaken up. Are you okay?"

"It was just Victoria," Brooke said, laughing sardonically as she wiped away the tears that were starting to dry on her face.

"What did she do?" he asked, his voice rising with anger.

"She was just…herself. She did her normal thing…I just let her get to me this time."

"I'm so sorry that you have to deal with her," he said softly. "I wish I could be there with you to help you through this."

"It's okay," she said, inhaling deeply. "I'll be fine. I'm actually gonna head home right now. It's getting kind of late."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

His voice was full of concern, and she felt bad. "I'm fine," she assured him, not bothering to mention that it looked like she was getting the stomach flu for the first time in forever. She didn't need him to worry any more than he already was. "I'm gonna go, okay? I'll call you tomorrow."

"I love you, Brooke," he said quickly, before she could hang up.

She sighed, a light smile on her face. "I love you, too. Bye."

Brooke didn't bother to close up her office like she normally did. She just wanted to get out of here and go to sleep. She wasn't feeling as nauseous as earlier, but the queasy feeling was still there. But by the time she got home, it was gone.

_Looks like it was just a little bug_, Brooke thought to herself as she entered the living to find Rachel lying on the couch, watching an old movie.

"Hey," she said, not stopping as she walked swiftly through the room and towards her bedroom.

"Were you crying?"

Brooke stopped in her tracks, her shoulders sagging in annoyance; she had been hoping Rachel wouldn't notice.

"Why do you ask?" she said, turning to look at the redhead.

"Your eyes are all puffy," Rachel said. She looked at Brooke softly, sympathy spread across her face. "What's wrong, Brooke?"

Brooke sighed and suddenly the tears were there again, flowing just as fast as before. Rachel stood up immedietly and strode over to her, pulling her into a hug and leading her back towards the couch. She couldn't believe she was crying in front of Rachel. She didn't even understand _why_ she was crying. It certainly wasn't all because of Victoria. Things had been overwhelming and stressful beyond belief these past few weeks and she had a feeling that it was finally taking its toll on her.

Rachel didn't ask her anything; she just held tightly onto to her and let her cry. Brooke was incredibly thankful for that. She didn't really want to talk right now.

It was about ten minutes later, after Brooke had had a good long cry, that she finally started to calm down.

"You don't have to tell me what's going on," Rachel said, rubbing Brooke's back gently, "but just tell me that you're okay—that I don't have to worry."

Brooke's lips twisted into a small smile. She loved how Rachel, the girl who always wanted to know everything, cared enough about her to just let her be.

"You don't have to worry," she said, sniffing as she pulled away from Rachel to look at her. "It was just Victoria."

Rachel's eyes narrowed. "That explains a little bit. But I've never seen you cry over her. Are you sure that's all it was?"

Brooke sighed and lay back on the couch. "I don't know…I'm just stressed, I guess. And I might be getting the stomach flu too. I actually _puked_ in front of Victoria." She laughed humorlessly at the memory.

Rachel looked at her curiously. "You threw up? That's kind of weird…" She stared at Brooke, an unreadable expression on her face and Brooke stared back at her in confusion. "Okay, Brooke, I know this is going to sound a little insensitive right now, but you've been a bit of a bitch these last couple of weeks."

She sat up quickly, looking at Rachel with a mixture of surprise and annoyance. "Um, what does _that_ have to do with anything?"

Rachel shrugged. "I don't know…I'm just trying to put two and two together, I guess."

She really had no idea what Rachel was getting at.

"Care to elaborate?" she asked, and the tone of her voice was definitely bitchy—Rachel was right about that.

Rachel made no move to speak. Instead, she just sat there, a look of deep concentration on her face, while Brooke waited impatiently for her to go on.

"Brooke…Do you think that you might be…pregnant?"

Brooke's face immedietly shifted from annoyed to confused and then she froze. It made sense, once she thought about it. She had been grouchy lately and very irritable, and tonight had just been downright strange, with her crying tantrums and throwing up.

But she couldn't, could she? No, she definitely couldn't. They'd been safe. She'd even had her period last…Wait, no she hadn't had it since before Lucas…She practically groaned aloud. This could _not_ be happening. Not right now.

Everything was starting to come into place. And it scared the hell out of her.

"I…I can't be…" she finally croaked out.

"You've had a lot of mood swings lately," Rachel explained, her voice unusually cautious, as if she was worried that Brooke would explode at any second, "and you said you threw up tonight and last week when Lucas was here you weren't feeling very well. Brooke, out of all the years I've known you, you've almost _never_ been sick. And, well we both know that you and Lucas have been at it every chance you've gotten so…"

Brooke shook her head, trying to shake away the thought that this could actually be happening…That she could be having a baby.

And then it hit her. She could be having a _baby_. She'd wanted to be a mother for so long now and she might actually finally be getting her wish. It was horrible timing, but she couldn't help the smile that started to form on her face.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked, her face lit up with concern.

"Um, I don't really know," she answered honestly. It was all too much for her. Everything felt so bittersweet. But she needed to know and she needed to know right away. She couldn't figure everything out if she didn't know for sure.

Her smile faded as she looked at Rachel, taking a heavy breath and tried once again to keep herself from crying. Something _had_ to be wrong if she was about to cry for the third time in barely an hour.

"Can you go get a test for me? I need to know…" She held back the tears, taking slow and steady breathes, and Rachel pulled her into a comforting hug.

"Sure," she said, smiling as she pulled away and stood to leave. "You know," she said, as she headed towards the door, "this isn't exactly a bad thing. Haven't you wanted this for awhile now?"

Brooke nodded slowly, but didn't have the strength to say anything.

"I know this isn't exactly great timing, Brooke, but everything will work out in the end."

With that, the redhead turned to leave, leaving Brooke alone with all of her thoughts.

She wasn't sure why she felt like crying again. After all, Rachel was right—this definitely wasn't a bad thing. She could be having a baby. With Lucas. The only guy she'd ever pictured being the father of her children. It was almost too good to be true.

And then she realized that it _was_ too good to be true. It was bad enough that Peyton still had no idea of their relationship, but if Brooke was pregnant then she would be forced to learn before she was probably ready. And if Brooke was worried about Peyton being angry at them for being together, then she didn't even want to think about how Peyton would react to this.

It felt like Rachel had been gone forever. She looked over at the clock and realized it had just barely been ten minutes. There was a drug store a couple blocks down the road and Brooke knew it would only be few minutes before Rachel was back.

How could this be happening now? It was like she was being punished for lying to Peyton about her and Lucas. But then again she wasn't really _lying_ to Peyton, she just wasn't _telling_ her. There was a difference, not a huge one, but it was still there and that made her feel just a little bit better.

It was odd to think that just a few hours ago she had been at work, pouring over all the things she had to get down before she left with little else on her mind, and now, here she was, possibly pregnant and completely confused about what she needed to do.

"I'm back."

She turned quickly to look at Rachel, who was holding up a big brown paper bag.

"I got three different brands, just so you can be sure."

"Thanks," Brooke said quietly, standing up and following Rachel into the bathroom.

"Good luck," Rachel said, smiling sympathetically, "whatever that means."

Brooke watched as Rachel closed the door behind her and then took out the tests. The last time she had taken one of these was back in her junior year of high school when she had thought she and Lucas had had that pregnancy scare.

These were two very different situations, though. The first time, she and Lucas had been broken up after he had cheated on her with her best friend and they weren't on great terms. She had felt scared and alone, even though Lucas had made it clear that he would be there for her, and she had wanted nothing more than for that test to be negative.

But this time…this time she wasn't sure what she wanted. She wanted to be a mother, but she didn't want to have to explain everything to Peyton and feel like she was betraying her even more than she already had. She understood that she and Lucas had time to start a family now and that there was no need to rush into anything. She wanted a child, but she could wait another year if she had to. Now that she had Lucas, it didn't seem that hard anymore.

She took all three tests and joined Rachel in her bedroom to wait. Rachel put a comforting arm around her as she sat down on the bed next to her.

"It'll be okay, Brooke," she said in reassurance.

Brooke rested her head on Rachel's shoulder. "I know."

And no matter what happened, whether she was pregnant or not, she knew that was true. It may take time and there would probably be a lot of fighting in between, but everything would be alright in the end.

They waited together and time went by slowly. She wasn't sure she could take it much longer, but then the timer went off and she and Rachel looked quickly at each other before she stood up and went back into the bathroom.

It felt wrong that Lucas wasn't with her this time, when they were actually in a serious relationship and were in love with each other. He should be sharing this moment with her, no matter what the outcome. This was it, though—the moment her life could change forever and she was still having a hard time deciding if it would be a good thing or a bad thing.

She picked up the first test and took a deep breath before slowly looking down at it.

Positive.

Her heart skipped a beat. She looked at the second.

Same thing.

She didn't even need to look at the third to know what it would say. She was pregnant with Lucas Scott's child. Brooke Davis was finally going to be a mother.

And she just didn't know what to think of it.

**A/N:** Surprised? From a lot of your reviews way back, I think many of you have been expecting it. I love, _love_, LOVE the idea of a Brucas baby, so I had to write about it. But I want to know how you all feel about it, so please review! Thanks for all of your great reviews last chapter. I haven't had a lot of time to respond, but they all made me very happy!


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Everything was just so overwhelming.

She was having a baby.

It was almost unbelievable, actually. What was she supposed to do from here? She needed to tell Lucas, that was for sure, but she had no idea how everything would work from that point on. She would go to Tree Hill right away and visit a doctor there, just to make sure, and then she would tell Lucas. And then…

Should she stay in Tree Hill and avoid coming back to New York until she was too big to hide? No. That was not an option. Peyton couldn't find out that way. She could go home to Tree Hill, tell Lucas, and then come back and tell Peyton. That was the best option and at the same time it was the scariest. She knew that Peyton wouldn't be ready to hear it, but then again she wondered if she'd _ever_ be ready.

"So?"

Brooke looked at Rachel solemnly before slowly nodding. Rachel sighed and stood up, bringing her into a hug. She was an amazing friend and Brooke was so incredibly thankful for her right now that she felt tears forming in her eyes.

"Not again," she murmured, hastily wiping her eyes before sitting down on her bed. Rachel sat down next to her.

"What am I gonna do, Rachel?" she asked, feeling more helpless than she had in a long time.

She wasn't supposed to be feeling this way, so confused and worried, not when she had just learned that she was going to be a mother. She'd wanted to this for a long time now and to have it happen this way was almost ironic. It wasn't like it was a horrible situation, after all, the baby was Lucas', but she wished that it could have waited until _after _she told Peyton about her and Lucas. At least then Peyton wouldn't be taken by complete surprise.

"Well, you've got to tell Lucas," Rachel said, "so that means you've got to go home. But you were planning on that anyway. Then…well, I don't really know what you'll do after that, but I say you take it one step at a time. Remember, Brooke, this isn't a bad thing. Just bad timing."

"Yeah," Brooke mumbled, mentally reminding herself exactly that.

She thought of Lucas and how he would react. He'd probably be ecstatic at first; after all he had wanted a family for a very long time now. Then when she reminded him of Peyton he'd probably be guilty. But she had a feeling he'd quickly get over that and move back to just being happy.

Brooke, on the other hand, knew she would not be able to fully celebrate until Peyton knew everything. And she was pretty sure that it would still be a little while before that happened.

She had been telling herself over and over that the reason she hadn't told Peyton about her and Lucas was because Peyton wasn't ready, but in reality she knew that it was because _she_ wasn't ready for Peyton to know. She wasn't ready to deal with the anger and betrayal that Peyton would surely feel and she knew now that it would be even worse.

The thought of it all scared the hell out of her.

"I think I'll go back tomorrow," Brooke said, looking at Rachel. "I want a doctor to confirm it first, and I'd rather do that in Tree Hill. And then I'll tell Lucas."

"Sounds like a plan," Rachel said, smiling at in an encouraging way. "Brooke, promise me you won't worry too much about all this, okay?"

Brooke sighed and leaned her head on Rachel's shoulder. "I'll try not to."

And she would, but she could pretty much guarantee that it would never work.

* * *

It had only been six weeks since she'd last been in Tree Hill, but it felt so much longer. Maybe it was because, in the short amount of time she had been away, her life had so drastically changed.

She was, after all, now pregnant with Lucas Scott's child. That was definitely drastic. But then again, if what the doctor had just told her was accurate—and she knew it was— she had been pregnant when she had left Tree Hill, so really her life had been drastically altered for awhile now.

Brooke didn't really know what to do now. She'd just seen the doctor who had obviously confirmed everything and now she was sitting in her car, debating over going to see Lucas right away or going to see someone else, someone who she knew she needed to talk to and someone she knew could give her the support she needed.

That was why when she drove away she headed towards Haley's house, instead of Lucas'. He should have been the first to know, she knew that, but it was too late for that, since Rachel already knew. He'd understand, anyway. But Brooke needed Haley so much right now. She knew that her friend wouldn't judge her or blame her for keeping everything from her and that was exactly what she needed.

It was around 3:30 in the afternoon and Brooke was hoping that Haley was out of school and at home. At the same time, she wasn't sure if she was ready to run into Nathan or even Jamie. She just needed to see Haley.

So, she pulled out her phone and dialed Haley's number, before pulling a u-turn and heading towards her own house.

"Hey, Tigger!"

Brooke smiled at the sound of her friend's voice; she hadn't realized how much she missed it.

"Hi, Tudor-mom."

"What's going on, Brooke? I feel like it's been forever since we talked."

"It has," Brooke said guiltily. Even before she had decided to move back to Tree Hill, she had been crazy busy with getting her company in order and therefore had had little time to call everyone back home. "Listen, I really need to talk to you. Do you think you can meet me at my house in a couple of minutes?"

"Your house?" Haley sounded confused and Brooke couldn't blame her; Haley still had no idea that she was back. "Wait, you're in Tree Hill?"

"Yeah, I just flew in a couple of hours ago."

"That's great, Brooke! You probably wanted to surprise us all, huh?"

"Sort of…So, can you meet me? It's kind of important and I really need you to be alone."

"Sure," Haley said, now sounding concerned. "Is everything okay, Brooke?"

"Yeah," Brooke replied. She hoped that Haley wouldn't worry too much, but knowing her that was useless. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

She quickly hung up before she could ask anything else. She still wasn't sure how Haley would react to everything, but she knew that she could trust her.

Haley's car was already in her driveway when she got home and she was waiting on her doorstep. She immedietly jumped up at the site of Brooke and ran to meet her, a huge smile on her face. Seeing Haley's face made it easy to forget her problems, if only for a few minutes.

"Brooke, it's so great to see you!" she cried, pulling Brooke into a hug. "Jamie's going to be so excited to hear that you're back."

"I can't wait to see him," Brooke responded. "I've missed you all so much."

"We've missed you, too," Haley said. Her big smile turned into a frown as she looked at Brooke penetratingly. "So, what's going on? You sounded kind of weird on the phone."

Brooke sighed, smiling as she shook her head warily. "A _lot_ has been going on. Come on inside and we can talk."

She led Haley into her house and she motioned for her to sit down. She would have sat with her, but for some reason she was feeling a little bit too nervous to sit still. Instead she paced the living room, trying to figure out exactly where to start.

"Brooke, you're kind of freaking me out."

She looked and Haley and grinned weakly. "Sorry, I'm just kind of nervous about how you're gonna take everything."

"Seriously, you've got me dying of curiosity. What's happening, Brooke?"

She stood there, not really sure what she should say.

"I…I'm not really gonna beat around the bush so I'll just come right out with it. Lucas and I… are together."

Haley's lips twisted into a huge smile, which was definitely encouraging for Brooke, but she didn't look at all surprised, making Brooke wonder if Lucas had said anything to her about them. "That's great! Did this happen when he visited New York? Because I thought he'd do something…"

"No," Brooke said and Haley's happy expression turned into confusion. "It happened about six weeks ago, actually," she explained, "when I was last here."

Haley still looked very confused and Brooke knew it was time to elaborate. "We got together the night I came back and he and I decided to keep the whole relationship secret for a little while, until we knew that we could tell Peyton. I know it sounds horrible, but there was really nothing else we could do."

"It doesn't sound horrible." Haley looked at her seriously. "If anything, it makes sense. Peyton probably isn't ready to know, anyway. Wait, you haven't told her, have you?"

"No…but we have to. Soon."

"Yeah, it probably isn't best to keep your relationship secret for too long or things could definitely get messy."

"Things are already about as messy as can be."

"Why?" Haley asked, eyes narrowed.

Brooke took a deep breath. "I'm kind of…pregnant."

Haley's eyes widened and her mouth formed the shape of an o. "Kind of pregnant?"

"Yeah. Well, I'm not _kind_ of pregnant, I'm definitely pregnant. Six weeks to be exact."

Silence overtook them both and it was a few moments before Haley spoke again.

"Wow."

Brooke grinned weakly. "I know."

"Of all the things, I was not expecting that…"

"It's crazy," Brooke agreed.

Haley looked at Brooke, a small smile pulling at her lips, before she stood up and enveloped Brooke into a huge hug.

"You're having a baby, Brooke!" she said, putting both her hands on Brooke's shoulders. "This is great news! This is what you've wanted for so long."

"Yeah," Brooke said, sighing as she looked at Haley sadly, "but it couldn't have come at a worse time. How am I supposed to tell Peyton?"

Haley paused and creased her eyebrows, like she was deep in thought. She pulled Brooke down onto the couch and looked at her with determination.

"I'm not gonna lie, Brooke, it's going to be hard. But I think you need to tell Peyton sooner rather than later. This is obviously something you can't keep a secret for too long."

"You're right," Brooke agreed. "I just…she's going to be _so_ angry, Haley, and I'm not sure I will be able to handle it."

"You can't know that for sure, Brooke," Haley said, putting an arm around her shoulder. "Maybe she'll be okay with it. Peyton told me about that guy she was going to be going on a date with, so maybe she's moved on."

"Yeah," Brooke scoffed, "she'll be okay with her best friend getting knocked up by the guy who broke up with her only a two and a half months ago. As a matter of fact, she'll probably give me her blessing the minute I tell her before running off to plan her and Josh's wedding. Come on, Haley, let's be real—she's gonna be extremely pissed and probably a little devastated."

She felt bad for being so harsh, but it was true and she needed Haley to understand that.

"Okay," Haley relented, "maybe she'll be a little angry, but you can't know until it happens. So, Brooke, please do _not_ stress over it. It's not good for the baby."

Brooke was fighting the urge to glare at her. First Rachel was practically begging her not to worry and now Haley was asking the same thing out of her. Didn't they realize how hard that was? She wasn't even sure how it was possible. Still, she knew that Haley was right; stress wasn't good for her child. So she would try— no matter how hard it was.

"So, does Lucas know?"

"He doesn't even know I'm here," Brooke admitted.

Haley didn't look surprised. "Are you gonna tell him today?"

"Yeah…"

"He's going to be so happy. He's wanted this for so long, just like you."

"I know." She allowed herself to smile again at the thought of Lucas' reaction. He would be overjoyed.

"Well, I'm gonna let you go ahead and tell him," Haley said, standing up. "Call me later tonight and tell me how it goes."

"I will," she promised and she stood up to walk with her to the door. "Haley?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not expecting you to keep this whole thing from Nathan, but could you not tell anyone else?"

"Sure," Haley said, smiling truthfully at her. "What about Jamie, though?"

Brooke thought of her young godson and how even at such a young age he was great at keeping secrets. "You can tell him, but no one else. For now, at least."

Haley nodded and pulled Brooke into another hug. "Everything will be okay, Brooke."

"That's what everyone keeps saying."

"That's because it's true," Haley replied, and Brooke could do nothing but believe her. "Okay, I'll see you later."

"Bye, Hales. And thank you."

"No problem."

As soon as Haley was gone, she grabbed her keys and headed back outside. It was time to tell Lucas.

She was a little freaked, she couldn't deny that, but she knew that she needed to do it before she completely chickened out. Now that she had Haley's support, she felt just a little bit better about everything.

His car was in the driveway when she pulled up and she wondered how surprised he would be to see her standing at his front door. He'd probably be very pleased.

Once thing Brooke had noticed when it came to her and Lucas was that she was the worrier in the relationship. Of course, she assumed that the women took on that role in most relationships, but for them it felt like she was always worrying so much more than she did with any other guy. Maybe that was because this relationship meant everything to her.

Lucas had always been very broody, constantly debating over what was right and what was wrong, but over the years that had lessened and, when it came to something as huge as this, Brooke was pretty sure that he would just be thrilled, instead of dwelling on all of the bad stuff that was going to inevitably come their way once Peyton found out.

She stepped out of the car and walked very slowly towards the door to his bedroom. Her hand was raised hesitantly as she debated whether she should knock or just walk right in. It took her longer than it should have to decid and, in the end, she chose to knock.

She waited for a few very long seconds before she heard the sound of his feet coming towards the door and the twist of a doorknob. She took a deep breath.

This was it.

**A/N: **Sorry for cliffhanger, I just thought it was best to end it there. Thank you all for your very positive reviews last chapter. I was pleased to see that most of you are all very happy about the Brucas baby (but then again, who wouldn't be? Haha).

As usual, thanks for reading and please remember to review!!


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Lucas Scott had writer's block.

That's the only excuse he could find as he turned away from his computer and made his way into the kitchen, intending on making himself the biggest sandwich he could. It was only four but he'd had an early lunch. Maybe the food would provide him the inspiration he needed. He truly doubted that, but he could still hope.

He just couldn't think of anything to write. He'd had a few good ideas run through his mind earlier but he had never followed through. It wasn't like he had a set deadline for his next book, though, so his motivation level wasn't running very high.

As he sat down at the table after making his food, he allowed his thoughts to drift to the only person he _knew_ could inspire him.

Brooke… His pretty girl.

He had only left New York a week ago, but he already felt like a piece of him was missing. She was his life now and without her in it, his life just didn't seem whole. It was cheesy, he knew, but it was just he felt.

His thoughts drifted to the engagement ring he had hidden in his top drawer. He had been more than surprised when his mother had given it to him when he had last visited her, intending on him giving it to Brooke someday…

"_Lucas, honey, wake up.."_

_He lifted his head from his pillow at the sound of his mother's hushed voice and squinted up at her through the darkness._

"_Mom? What's going on?"_

"_I've got something that I thought you might like."_

_He sat up in his bed and looked at Karen, who was sitting on the edge of his bed with a smile. She was clutching onto to something in one of her hands and he looked down at it curiously._

"_What is it?"_

_She opened up her palm, revealing a small black box. It didn't take him long to figure out what it was, but he was still surprised when she opened it up to reveal a small elegant diamond ring. His eyes narrowed as he recognized it immediately._

"_Mom, that's—."_

"_The ring Keith gave me for our engagement," Karen finished for him. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"_

_He nodded, but couldn't keep the confusion from his eyes. "Yeah… Why are you showing this to me?"_

"_I'm not showing it to you," she said, "I'm giving it to you."_

"_You're…giving it to me?"_

_It didn't make sense to him. How could his mother give him her engagement ring? It was one of the pieces of Keith that he'd thought she would keep forever._

"_I know that nothing is going on with you and Brooke right now," she explained, "but I'd like to think that maybe a year or two down the road you might be ready to give this to her."_

"_Mom…" He was beyond touched that she would ever consider giving him something as precious as this ring, but he felt like he was taking something away from her that wasn't his to take; it just didn't feel right._

"_This ring," she continued, "is something that I've treasured all these years since Keith died, but I've always loved the idea of passing it down to someone who I love, to someone who can give it better use than I can. Lucas, there is no one else I would rather have this ring than Brooke."_

"_I… wow, Mom, I don't even know what to say. This is just amazing. But I don't think I can take it."_

"_Sure you can," she said, smiling as she held out the ring. "Come on, you don't want to use that recycled ring you've used on two other girls, do you?"_

_He grinned. "That probably wouldn't be the best idea, although Brooke was actually the first girl to wear it." Karen looked at him curiously, but he didn't go into the story. "But Mom, Brooke and I aren't even together. I don't even know how she feels for me."_

_She put an arm on his shoulder. "I know, but I have faith in you two. I always have. And I want Brooke to have this, even if it will be awhile before she ever gets to wear it."_

_He nodded slowly, finally taking the ring from her hands. If this is what his mother really wanted, then he would take it. "This means so much to me," he said, honored that his mother would ever give him something as great as this. _

_His eyes met hers and she nodded in understanding._

"_I think it's what Keith would have wanted." Lucas could just barely make out a tear in her eye and he pulled her into a hug, thankful that he had a mother as great and strong as her. _

Lucas knew that it would still be a little while before he gave Brooke the ring, despite the fact that they were now together, but he was still happy to have it. He had been curious about why his mother had never given him the ring for Lindsay or Peyton. It was probably because they'd been on different sides of the world when he'd proposed to the two other girls, but he wondered if she would have given it to him even if she had been in Tree Hill. This time, after all, everything was different and in his mind his mother's ring signified that. This time he had no doubts and he knew that he would be spending the rest of his life with Brooke.

A loud knock coming from his bedroom broke him from his thoughts and he quickly stood up, abandoning the other half of his sandwich. It was probably Nathan coming to see if he wanted to go down to the River Court and play some basketball. He'd been cooped up in his house too long today to say no to that; anything to make the day go by faster so he could be one step closer to being with Brooke.

He padded through his room and towards the door, before quickly opening it.

* * *

He froze the moment he opened the door, his eyes widening at the sight of her. He looked like he was in disbelief, which for some reason she found very cute.

"Brooke?"

She smiled wearily at him and shrugged. "Surprise."

His mouth twisted into a huge smile and he closed the distance between them before she could say anything else. His lips came crashing onto hers and she let herself relax into him, just for a moment.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as he pulled away. "I thought you were coming next week?" He was beaming at her and she was happy to know that she could have that effect on him. She was pretty sure he'd be doing a lot of smiling for a while now, if her news had anything to do with it.

"That was originally the plan," she said. She looked past him and into his room. "Let's go inside, okay?"

He grinned, taking her hand and leading her into his bedroom. His hands fell to her hips and he playfully toyed with the hem of her shirt, as they stood at the edge of his bed.

"I know it's only been a week, but it felt like forever," he said, resting his forehead against hers. He lightly kissed her lips and she closed her eyes. They stayed like that for a few seconds, and she tried to figure out exactly what to say.

"So, why'd you come home early?" he asked, his hand cupping the side of her head as he placed a kiss on her nose. He gently strung his fingers through her hair.

"I needed to see you," she murmured, eyes still closed.

"Brooke, are you okay? When I talked to you last night it really seemed like your mother had gotten to you. Did you come because of her? Did she do something to you?"

His voice was mixed with both concern and anger when he spoke of Victoria, but she couldn't help but be amused at his curiosity.

"So many questions, Lucas," she said, opening her eyes to look at his anxious face. He just stared at her, his eyebrows creased as he waited for her to continue. "I didn't come here because of Victoria. I came because I needed to talk to you about something important."

The concern in his face lessened considerably, but he still looked confused. "Okay…"

"Luke, I…"

Was this it? Was there nothing else to tell him but the truth? She'd pictured this moment for awhile now, but it felt so strange that it was finally happening. It almost seemed too easy.

He was looking at her intently, his gaze penetrating her eyes as she looked at him nervously. They were standing only inches apart and she could feel his warm breath against her face. She took a deep breath and looked down at their now intertwined hands.

"Lucas, I'm pregnant."

* * *

He froze, not really sure he heard her correctly. She couldn't have possible just said she was pregnant. He must have misunderstood… It was too good to be true.

"Wh- what?" he stuttered, blinking blankly at her.

"I'm pregnant," she repeated, her eyes locked on his face as she anxiously awaited some sort of response. The words sunk in this time and he felt himself very slowly coming out of his shock.

Brooke was pregnant. With _his_ baby. She was having a baby and they were going to be parents. He was going to be a _father_.

He felt like he was in some sort of dream and he didn't want to wake up. He and Brooke were having a baby, they were going to have a family.

It was amazing.

"Luke?" she asked and he looked down at her panicked face. "Are you okay?"

His mouth twisted into a wide smile and he looked at her, a mixture of disbelief and exhilaration written clearly across his face. He couldn't believe this was happening.

"I'm…more than okay," he said, trying to find the right words.

He wasn't really sure what to do other than pull her into his arms and lift her into the air. She let out a squeal as he held tightly onto her and twirled her around. Laughing as he set her down, he crushed his lips against hers.

There was really no other way to explain to her how happy he was in that moment. He had wanted his own family for so long and now he was finally getting it. And _she_ was giving it to him and there was no one else that he'd rather it be.

"I love you, Brooke," he whispered into her ear as he held her close to him.

"I take it you're not mad, then. " She laughed nervously against his chest.

He pulled away slightly, his hands resting on her back, and looked at her with narrowed eyes. "I could never be angry about something as amazing as this." He found himself smiling again; he had a feeling he'd be doing that a lot now. "We're having a baby, Brooke. It's incredible."

"I know," she said, smiling weakly at him, "but it's horrible timing, Lucas. Have you thought about Peyton?"

He frowned as he remembered his ex-fiancée and how she still had no clue about him and Brooke. This pregnancy definitely put a twist in their plans, but it would be okay— definitely not good timing, but things would work out for the best in the end.

"We'll figure things out," he said, putting one hand on the side of her face. She let her head fall into it and he gently rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "You're worrying about it, aren't you?"

She shrugged. "How can I not? She's gonna freak, Lucas."

"Let's not think about it right now," he said, hoping that he could break her out of her broody mood for a little while. After all, brooding was _his_ job. "Let's just concentrate on the present. We're gonna be parents. You're finally gonna get to be a mom and I'll get to be a dad. This is what we've wanted."

For the first time since she'd arrived, she really smiled at him. The anxiety in her face almost completely disappeared and she actually looked excited.

"It _is_ kind of amazing, isn't it?"

He grinned and nodded, his hand trailing down her back and eventually resting on her stomach. Her eyes followed his to the spot where his hand sat and she placed her hand on top of his.

"This is…" he began, not even sure if words could describe how he felt right now. "I'm a famous novelist and I can't think of anything I could say that could really describe to you how happy I am right now."

Their eyes locked and she smiled at him again. He could see the tears forming in her eyes and he knew, despite all of her anxiety about everything else, that she was truly happy, too.

After everything with Angie and all that she had been through these past months, Brooke deserved to be happy. She deserved to get what she had wanted for such a long time— a family and a child. And now she was finally getting it and he couldn't be more happy that he got to be apart of it.

"Lucas, we have a _lot_ to talk about," she said, looking up at him seriously.

"I know," he murmured, smiling as he looked down at her, "but like I said, let's not worry about that right now."

"Luke," she said, pulling away from him in frustration, "I really think we should get the talking out of the way first, or else I won't be able to concentrate on anything else."

She sat down on his bed and patted the spot next to her. He sat down, knowing he had no choice but to listen. If she wanted to talk, then he'd let her, but he wasn't going to let her worry much longer.

"Alright, go ahead" he said, resting his hand on her back as they sat next to each other.

She was silent for a moment and he knew that she must be gathering her thoughts. He let her take her time as he soothingly ran his hand up and down her back.

"I was planning on surprising you, but next week when I was coming back to visit, I was originally intending on moving back permanently."

Her words made the smile he was already wearing widen even more. She was moving back—they could finally _really_ be together. But his excitement was short-lived as he thought about something she had said that didn't sit well with him.

"Wait, _originally_?" he asked, his smile fading as his eyes narrowed in confusion.

"I have to go back," she said, looking at him guiltily. "I still have a lot of things at work to get settled and of course there's Peyton…"

"But you'll come back next week, right?"

When she didn't immedietly respond, he knew that she had changed her mind. She wouldn't be coming back to stay after all. The thought made him both confused and slightly angry. They were having a baby now; they needed to be together in one place from now on. It wouldn't work any other way.

"I need to tell Peyton," she began slowly, "but I was think I'd wait until after I finished the first trimester, which is at about three months. I'm six weeks now, so that's be just about a month and a half."

"Why then?"

"The doctor said this next month is the biggest risk for miscarriage in a pregnancy," she explained.

He was starting to catch on to what she was trying to say. "So, you want to wait until there's not a big risk of miscarriage to tell Peyton…Because if we have a miscarriage then Peyton will never have to know?"

The idea sounded absurd to him. A miscarriage would devastate them both and trauma like that wasn't something Brooke could forever hide from her best friend. He cringed at the thought of it all.

"Luke, I know you think it sounds horrible, but I'm not ready to tell her…So, basically I'll use any excuse I can get to wait a little bit longer to tell her."

He looked at her softly, knowing that she was probably incredibly scared to tell Peyton and risk the friendship that she had with her. "I understand what you mean," he said gently as he took her hand, "but do you really think you can hide from her much longer? The longer we keep this from her, the more it's going to hurt in the end."

Her face fell and he knew that she wasn't happy to hear his words. "I know," she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "I just want to wait a little bit longer. Just another month, Lucas. It's really not that long, if you think about it."

He sighed. "Brooke, I really don't think I can spend another month away from you."

"You can come with me to New York," she offered, her voice rising hopefully.

It was an enticing offer, but he wasn't sure it could work. Sure, he didn't have anything holding him back in Tree Hill right now, but he was pretty sure that he and Brooke being around Peyton would arouse some suspicion. Brooke seemed to realize that, but she didn't say anything as she patiently waited for him to respond.

"Do you really think that could work?" he finally asked.

She shrugged and looked down at her feet. "I don't know… Probably not. But how about you come for the last two weeks I'm there? You could just tell Peyton that you're there to help me pack and then before we leave…we could tell her." Her voice got lower and lower as he saw the hopelessness grow in her face. She was still horrified at the prospect of tell Peyton, that was pretty clear.

He wasn't entirely convinced about her plan—he would still have to be away from her for another month. He gently kissed the top of her head and decided that this decision could wait until later.

"Tell you what. How about we talk about this later? We haven't really gotten the chance to celebrate, have we?"

Her lips twisted into a smile. "We really haven't."

Her voice was raspier than normal as she twisted around to straddle him. He was pretty sure his smile couldn't have been any wider as his lips found his way to hers. She pushed him onto his back on the bed and all her anxiety from earlier seemed to fade away as she easily pulled off his t-shirt.

"This is okay, right? It won't hurt the baby?" he asked quickly, before they moved any further.

She grinned and pulled off her own shirt. His eyes fell automatically to her still flat stomach and he smiled.

"Oh yeah," she said, her face just centimeters away from his. "This is _definitely _okay."

**A/N:** I hope you all liked Lucas' reaction. I can't really see Lucas ever being angry about something like this. Anyway, next chapter be prepared for some Jamie cuteness ( at least I think, I haven't written it yet, so plans could change)!

This story is at 200 reviews and I'm still completely amazed and grateful for everyone who has contributed to that. Even if you haven't, I'm still incredibly grateful that you even bother to read my story. I really do appreciate every single one of you more than you can imagine! Seriously, every time I look at my inbox and see I've got a new review I explode with happiness! Okay, maybe _exploding_ is a bit of an exaggeration, but it really does make me crazy happy :D.

So, with that in mind, thank you all so much for reviewing and please do continue!


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

His arms were wrapped around her, his hands resting on her stomach, as they lay together on his bed. The last rays of the setting sun pored weakly though his window and Brooke knew it must be getting late. She didn't want to move. Everything was so perfect right now that she had no desire to ever leave his bed again. Lucas always seemed to have that effect on her.

She hadn't been surprised at his reaction to her pregnancy; she and Lucas were both the same in that they had wanted a family for a long time. It was only right that they could start one together.

She looked over at the bedside table, where her cell phone sat. A beeping red light on the side of her phone caught her attention, letting her know that she had some new messages. She lazily reached for it, trying not to disturb a sleeping Lucas in the process, and called her voicemail, listening to her messages.

The first was surprisingly from Peyton, who was apparently getting ready for her date with Josh and was wondering how Brooke was doing with the shop in Tree Hill. Brooke's excuse for leaving early had been that the shop was once again in chaos and they desperately needed her help. Peyton hadn't been suspicious at all.

The next few messages were from her work in New York and she quickly listened to them, reminding herself to call them later.

The last was a quick one from Haley, asking how things had gone with Lucas and telling her to call her back.

She didn't want to move from Lucas' hold, but she was starving and so she regretfully slipped from Lucas' arms and headed into the kitchen. She made her way to the refrigerator, grabbing a box of chocolate ice cream and dumping three large scoops into a bowl, before pouring some whip cream onto it. It wasn't very healthy, but she didn't find herself caring. After all, now she was eating for two.

Sitting down at the table, she took a few bites of her ice cream and then took out her phone and punched in Haley's number. Now that she was away from Lucas, she figured she should take the time to call her friend; she was pretty sure that as soon as she was done with her food she would be right back in Lucas' arms and once again hidden from the rest of the world.

"Brooke!" Haley's excited voice rang in her ear. "How'd it go?"

Brooke smiled at the sound of her friend's voice. "It went great, as expected."

"Oh, I'm so happy for you both," Haley gushed and Brooke couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm.

"I'm actually really excited about it, although I kind of feel bad at the same time."

"Brooke," Haley said, her voice stern, "you need to stop worrying about Peyton and start thinking about yourself. I know that you love Peyton and she's your best friend and you never want to hurt her, but let's face it: what's done is done and you can't do anything to change it. I don't think you _would_ change it if you could. I know it's a little harsh, Brooke, but it's true and you and I both know that."

She did know that Haley was right—she wouldn't change the fact that she and Lucas were together or even that they were having a baby, even if she could. Yes, she wished that Peyton was more prepared for the bomb that was going to be dropped pretty soon, but she definitely wouldn't turn around and take it all back just so Peyton's feelings could be spared. It sounded mean, and she did feel a bit bad about it, but it was her turn to be a little bit selfish for once.

"You're right, Haley," she said, smiling confidently.

Haley laughed. "Of course I am."

"Seriously, Haley, the next few days I'm in Tree Hill I'm just going to relax and think about me and Lucas and our baby. Not Peyton."

"You really deserve that," Haley replied softly.

"I do, don't I?"

She was really liking this idea of just forgetting all of her troubles and focusing on herself for once. She'd worry about everything else when she got back to New York.

"So," she began, deciding now was the time for a little subject change, "did you tell Nathan everything?"

"I actually didn't. I wanted to wait until I knew you told Lucas. I didn't think anyone else should know about this before him."

"You're probably giddy with the excitement of telling him, aren't you?" Haley was probably jumping in her seat at the idea of telling her husband.

"Well, this _is_ big news, Brooke."

Brooke smiled. "Yeah, it is. So, I'll let you go off and tell Nathan. I've got to make another call anyway before I go back to Lucas."

"I'm actually kind of surprised you called. I thought Lucas would have had you locked up the rest of the night."

"He's sleeping right now, so I managed to get away," she said, laughing lightly, "but believe me, we're not going anywhere tonight."

"Well, have fun then," Haley said, "and I'll see you soon. But hey, why don't you and Lucas come over for dinner tomorrow?"

"That would be great." She was eager to see Jamie again and also to spend some quality time with her other best friend. She hadn't properly hung out with Haley in what felt like forever. She made it one of her goals to make sure that she and Haley spent some quality friend time together while she was here.

"I'll call tomorrow with the details, then. See you later, Brooke. And congratulations."

"Thanks," she replied, smiling as she hung up.

Haley always had a way of making her feel better. It was amazing how a few hours ago she had been so completely focused on how and when she was going to tell Peyton everything and how she'd react, and now she was just eating ice cream and thinking about the fact that she was actually going to be a mother.

She couldn't be happier.

She did need to call Peyton, though, but as she punched in Peyton's number, she promised herself that it would be quick and as guiltless as possible.

"Hello?"

"P. Sawyer! Am I interrupting your date?"

"Hey, Brooke." Peyton's voice was surprisingly cheerful. "No, you're not interrupting anything. I'm just getting ready to meet him actually."

"Then I won't bother you for too long. I just wanted to see how things were going. Are you nervous?"

"Not really. It's really easy hanging around Josh, so I don't think it will be awkward at all. I am kind of worried about how he'll take it when I tell him I don't want anything serious, but it's the first date so he shouldn't be too surprised, right?"

Brooke laughed. "Nope, maybe if you guys had been going out for a few months he'd be a little taken back, but he should be okay. Josh is a good guy, though. I don't think he'll want to pressure you into anything."

"Yeah," Peyton agreed, "he'll be great. So, how's everything in Tree Hill? Are you getting everything under control?"

The guilty feeling arose in her stomach once again but she did her best to ignore it. "Yup, everything should be fine soon. I'm actually hanging out with Lucas tonight."

Brooke was surprised that she told Peyton that, but she felt compelled to at least tell Peyton part of the truth.

"Oh, that's cool." Peyton's voice sounded a bit strained, and she wondered if she made the right decision in telling her that piece of information. "Tell him hi for me."

"Sure," Brooke replied. "Well, I'll let you go, but call me tomorrow and tell me how the date went."

"I will," Peyton replied, sounding cheerful once again. "Love you, B. Davis."

"Love you too, P. Sawyer. Talk to you later."

She hung up and sighed, a small smile on her face as she dug back into her ice cream. The guilty feeling that had arisen in her stomach was almost completely gone again and she once again felt calm and collected.

"There you are."

She turned around to look at Lucas, who was walking sleepily thought the hallway and into the kitchen. He wore nothing but his boxers and his hair was messy from sleep as he trudged towards her with a big smile on his face; he couldn't have looked more adorable to her.

"When I woke up and you weren't there I thought I'd dreamt everything," he said, sitting down next to her and putting a hand on her thigh.

She scooted close to him, placing a kiss on his cheek. "Nope, I'm here and it definitely wasn't a dream."

He grinned and she smiled back at him before concentrating again on her ice cream. She really was hungry and, as she finished up the last of her bowl, she was pretty sure she needed something else to sooth her appetite.

"Still hungry?" he asked, chuckling as she stared with narrowed eyes at the empty bowl.

She giggled and looked up at him. "Very much."

"I'll make you something then." He stood up and made his way to the fridge. "What'll it be? Eggs or… ice cream?" She laughed at his very limited choices and he shrugged. "I guess I need to go shopping."

"You really are a bachelor, Luke," she said as he pulled out the carton of eggs. When he opened it up to find nothing in it, she just shook her head in amusement, not at all surprised.

He looked at her sheepishly. "How about I order some pizza?"

"Just about anything sounds good right now."

He grinned, placing a quick kiss on the top of her head before grabbing the phone and calling the pizza place. She looked around the kitchen and for the first time noticed how messy it was. Piles of dishes littered the sink and the trash can was overflowing, while the floor looked like it hadn't been swept in weeks. Lucas had never been the neatest person in the world, and neither had she for that matter, but he didn't seem to care much about cleaning up his place, at least when no one else was around. That would definitely be changing once she came back to Tree Hill for good. She did not like filth, that was for sure.

"So, not to be rude," she said, as he hung up the phone and sat back down next to her, "but you're place is a pig sty."

He smiled at her guiltily. "Yeah, I haven't really been in the mood to clean lately."

"Well, I'll have to help you clean up before I leave and we're definitely gonna need to do some shopping. I can't live off of ice cream and left over pizza while I'm here. And I don't think the baby can either."

His expression softened at the mention of the baby and he looked down at her stomach, placing the back of his hand gently on it. "Our baby will definitely be getting the best of the best. No left overs."

She laughed and took his hand in hers, lacing her fingers through his. "Whatever you say," she said into his ear. She placed a kiss on his neck, running her free hand down his bare back. "What do you say we go back to bed until the pizza gets here?"

His head perked up and he looked at her with a huge grin on his face. "I say that's sounds like an excellent idea."

* * *

The next twenty fours hours seemed to go by more quickly than she could have imagined and soon Brooke and Lucas were walking hand in hand up Nathan and Haley's driveway for dinner.

She and Lucas had spent a majority of their day in bed, but the afternoon had been devoted to tidying up his house and shopping for food. It had been hard to clean, though, with him distracting her every few minutes by constantly touching her or distracting her by placing soft kissed down her neck. Not that she minded, but still, things could have gone by much quicker without his constant teasing. The thought of seeing Jamie again excited her and she found herself looking forward to the dinner with the Scotts more and more as the day went by.

Now, as they stood at the front door, she was actually surprised that Jamie hadn't already greeted them. But just as Lucas lifted his fist to knock, the door sprang open and Jamie was suddenly there, looking up at Brooke with wide and happy eyes.

"Aunt Brooke, you're back!"

She immedietly reached down and hugged him close to her. Finally seeing him made her realize how much she had really missed him while she was gone and she found herself dreading leaving him again.

_Just don't think about it_, she thought to herself_. Focus on the present._

"I missed you," she said, lifting him up and looking right into his cute little eyes.

"I missed you, too, Aunt Brooke. You've been gone forever!"

She chuckled lightly. "Yeah, it feels that way, doesn't it?"

"Hey, Brooke," a lower, familiar voice spoke up from behind Jamie, "it's good to have you back."

She looked over Jamie's head and smiled at Nathan, who was leaning against the doorway with a grin on his face.

"Hey, Nate," she said, setting Jamie down and pulling him into a hug. Nathan had been like a big brother to her for awhile now and it was always great to hang out with him. "I missed you all so much."

They followed Nathan into the living room and Nathan and Lucas sat down on the couch. Jamie, who was standing right at her feet, grabbed her hand and looked up at her with a smile—she had a feeling he wouldn't be letting go for awhile, but she didn't mind a bit. Haley appeared a second later, smiling widely at both her and Lucas.

"So," Nathan said, looking first at Lucas and then at Brooke, "I hear a lot, and I do mean a _lot,_ has happened during the past couple of months that I am _just_ now figuring out about."

Lucas looked at his brother sheepishly and shrugged. "Can you blame us?"

Nathan grinned. "No, not really. I'm happy for you, though," he added seriously. "You both deserve to be happy and now you're finally getting the chance." He patted Lucas on the back. "Congratulations. Both of you."

"Thanks," Lucas replied, nodding gratefully. Brooke just smiled and clung even tighter onto her godson's hand.

"Momma said you're having a baby," Jamie said, looking up at her. "Are you gonna be getting another one like Angie?"

"Well," Brooke said, sitting down between Lucas and Nathan and lifting Jamie onto her lap, "it's gonna be a little different this time. I was just taking care of Angie last time and she was already nice and big by the time I got her. This baby needs time to grow. Actually, the baby's only about the size of a peanut right now."

Jamie's eyes widened. "Whoa. That's tiny. It's in your tummy, right? That's what Momma said."

Brooke nodded. "Yup, and that's where the baby will stay until it's ready to come out."

Jamie remained silent for a moment before frowning. "That kind of weird."

Haley laughed and Nathan and Lucas shared an amused glance, but Brooke just smiled. "It really is, when you think about it."

"So, do you two want a boy or a girl?" Haley asked.

"I'm actually not that picky," Brooke replied. And she really wasn't; as long as it was healthy she would be happy.

"I hope you have a boy," Jamie said, "that way I can help teach him basketball when he's older!"

Lucas grinned and ruffled Jamie's hair. "You can teach a girl too, you know."

Jamie's face scrunched up into a frown. "Uncle Lucas, girls have cooties."

They all laughed and Nathan made a remark about how Jamie wouldn't always think that before Haley swapped him on the head and he just shrugged. "It's the truth," he simply replied.

"Well, I'd love a girl," Lucas said, after they had all settled down. Brooke looked at him curiously. They hadn't talked about it yet so she really had no idea what his preference was, but she had been thinking he would want a boy, so to hear him say he'd like a girl was a bit surprising.

"You'd spoil her rotten," Haley said, grinning at him.

He just smiled. "I probably would…I don't know, though. Ever since Lily, and especially after Angie, I've always loved the idea of having a little girl. I'd love a boy too, don't get me wrong, but a girl would be amazing."

"A miniature Brooke…" Nathan pondered, chuckling lightly as he shook his head. "How could we survive?"

Brooke playfully hit him in the shoulder before turning to look at Lucas, who was looking straight at her, a content smile on his face. She took his hand and smiled back.

"You guys are bringing me back to high school," Nathan said, looking at them both. "Seriously, has it really been that long since you two have been together?"

"Unfortunately," Lucas muttered and Brooke giggled.

She moved closer to Lucas, quickly adjusting Jamie on her lap, and let his arm rest around her shoulders, his hand running gently up and down her arm. "Yeah, it's been too long."

"Well," Haley said, "looking at you both you'd think it was just yesterday. You two really are amazing together."

"I always thought you two would end up together in the end," Nathan said proudly.

"I'm sure you did," Brooke replied, rolling her eyes. With Lucas' record, she was pretty sure _no one_ had any idea who he would ultimately end up with. She knew she didn't. But, in the end, she was definitely glad it was her.

"So, dinner's ready, whenever you all are ready," Haley said, pointing towards the kitchen.

Brooke smiled at the mention of dinner; she was starving and she knew that Haley's cooking would do the trick. So they all followed her into the dining room and sat down to eat.

As she looked around the table, there was both a sense of peace and happiness that ran through her body. Here, with Lucas and Nathan, Haley, and Jamie, she felt like everything was perfect. These people were her family, the people she would be spending the rest of her life, and she couldn't have chosen anyone better.

There was just one person missing, one person who she needed here to truly feel complete. And that person's name was Peyton Sawyer. And until she came back, she knew that it would she could not completely content because, without her best friend in her life, things just weren't the same.

But despite that, she felt good. Things were finally going her way and she knew that it wouldn't be long before everything was out in the open and she could finally live her life the way she wanted to. Lucas by her side and the rest of the family standing next to her—that was all she needed.

**A/N:** Wow! I'm sorry for the wait! I know it wasn't too long, but I normally update much faster and I really am sorry. I've just been super busy lately. School just started for me and I've got tons of homework and then I've got my jobs and friends, not to mention this book that I've been reading that I want to finish by this weekend. Anyway, it looks like my updating isn't going to be as frequent as usual, since school's started up. It sucks, but it's just the way life goes :(. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, though. It was pretty much a filler chapter, obviously, but I tried to throw in as much fluff as I could.

I do have to say something, though, because not a lot of people I know watch OTH and I can't complain to them so I'll complain to you :D. Okay, so is anyone else _really_ frustrated with Brucas this season? And I don't obviously mean romantic Brucas, because it looks like we're not getting any of that, but I mean the friendship aspect. Seriously, five episodes in and Brooke and Lucas haven't talked to each other _once_— not counting their first scene together in the season premiere, which also annoyed me but that is a totally different topic. Anyway, my point is that, if I remember correctly, Mark stated that even if Leyton is endgame, the friendship between Brooke and Lucas is still going to be very strong. The problem is that I don't see any friendship right now. It's virtually nonexistent despite what the two went through last season and how much their friendship grew. I mean, we didn't even get a scene showing Lucas' reaction to Brooke's attack. Seriously, you'd think he could at least give us that! I know that we've only had five episodes so far, but it's just so frustrating! Anyone else agree? And I still haven't heard any spoilers about Brucas scenes in the future. Seriously, Mark is pissing me off with all this Leyton and no Brucas friendship. It the _least_ he could give us. Okay, I'm done ranting! I just need to vent a little, but believe me I could go on and on about this subject.

So, with all that said, thanks so much for reading and please remember to review!


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

In the five years that had passed since she graduated high school, Brooke was pretty sure that she had never been as happy as she was now. Actually, she was pretty sure she had _never_ been this happy before. The only period of her life that could actually contend with how she felt now was back in senior year, when she had been with Lucas.

Now, though, her whole life seemed to finally be settling into where she was supposed to be. She and Lucas were having a baby and they were in love and she had her family here in Tree Hill and everything was amazing.

But now that she was only a day away from returning to New York, she was starting to dread the moment she had to leave Tree Hill again. She absolutely did _not_ want to go home and, if it wasn't for the many things she still had to accomplish at Clothes Over Bros, she would seriously consider not going back. After all, she was supposed to be moving back to Tree Hill this week anyway. But life took a turn and she found herself back at square one—Peyton was still in the dark about her and Lucas and she still had to tell her. And the worst part was that she knew her conscience wouldn't let her return home until Peyton was told.

"Brooke, you're brooding."

She looked guiltily over at Haley, who was sitting across from her in the small coffee shop that they had met up in.

"Sorry about that. I guess it just hit me that I have to go home tomorrow."

"Yeah, it sucks," Haley responded, smiling sadly at her. "You just got here a few days ago and now you're leaving again."

"I'll be back again soon, though. And next time I won't be leaving again."

"I hope not. I don't think any of us would be able to handle it, especially Jamie. And _especially_ Lucas. I swear, the last time you left, they would both sit there together and look depressed. They made quite a pair."

Brooke laughed and looked across the room at Lucas, who was helping Jamie pick out a pastry up at the counter. She couldn't help but admire Lucas as he knelt next to the small boy pointing at the various desserts as he waited patiently for Jamie to make a decision. He was going to be the most amazing father.

"So, how's Peyton doing, Brooke?" Nathan, who was seated next to Haley, asked. "I haven't heard that much about her since you came back."

"She's doing pretty well. She's keeping busy with that band I told you about."

"Did she ever tell you how her date went with that Josh guy?" Haley questioned.

"Yeah, how _did_ that go, anyway?" Lucas asked as he took a seat next to her. Jamie scrambled over to Nathan and quickly climbed on his father's lap before becoming preoccupied by his extra large brownie.

"Well," Brooke began, thinking about the long explanation Peyton had given about her date with Josh, "it went great. But it looks like they won't be going on another one. At least not for awhile."

"Wait," Haley said, crinkling her eyebrows in confusion, "it went great but they're not going out again?"

Brooke nodded. She had been confused too when she had talked to Peyton about it the other day. "She told Josh that she doesn't want anything serious and he said that they can take it slowly and just try to stay friends right now. He said he doesn't want to pressure her into anything she's not ready for."

"I guess that makes sense," Haley said. "Josh sure sounds like a great guy though. I'd really like to meet him. Have you met him yet, Lucas?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. But I agree, he definitely sounds like a good guy. I'm glad that she's found someone who will treat her the way she deserves."

Haley looked at him thoughtfully. "You really aren't having a tough time with Peyton moving on, are you Lucas?"

He shrugged. "I've been over her for awhile now, Haley. I really have no reason to be having a tough time."

"I know and I'm not criticizing you for it. I actually think it's great that you can be so supportive of her. It's just that I thought it would be a little awkward to talk about."

"I think it'll be a little bit more awkward once I actually meet the guy, but I guess it really hasn't been too weird to think about so far."

Lucas moved his arm to the back of Brooke's chair, resting his hand on her shoulder and distracting her for the conversation. She looked at him from the corner of her eye as he and Haley laughed over something Nathan had said and moved her hand down to his leg. It was moments like these when she forgot about the outside world and just concentrated on him and her. She wasn't thinking about Peyton or work or Tree Hill or anything else. Looking at him made it so easy to forget all the other things going on in life and that was why she couldn't take her eyes off of him.

His other free hand roamed down to her hand on his thigh and he strung his fingers through hers, his other hand rubbing slow circles on her shoulder. He was talking to Haley but she wasn't quite sure what they were speaking about anymore. All she knew was that she wanted him and that she was leaving tomorrow and that she needed to use all of the rest of her time here in his arms, tucked away from the rest of the world.

And so she slowly edged closer and closer towards him so that soon no more space remained in between. She removed her hand from his and moved it to his back, slipping it underneath the collar of Lucas' shirt, and moved her other hand back to his thigh, resting it on his knee. It was a bit daring to do in front of Nathan, Haley, and Jamie, but she found she didn't really care. She _needed_ Lucas.

He had been saying something to Nathan, when he stopped in mid-sentence, blinking rapidly as he looked over at Brooke in confusion. She smiled at him casually, trying to act as if nothing was going on in front of her friends, and shrugged. His eyebrows furrowed together and he turned back to talk to Nathan.

She let them continue their conversation, but continued running her hand up and down his thigh seductively. He was barely able to keep his concentration as he spoke.

Then she stretched her neck and moved her face towards his ear, letting her lips linger there for just a second.

"I think it's time to go," she whispered, her voice raspy as quickly pulled back.

His face turned to look at her, a small smile tugging at his lips, and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"You know you two are disgusting, right?"

Brooke laughed as she pulled away from Lucas and turned to look at Nathan, who was mockingly covering Jamie's eyes.

"Shield your eyes, Jamie, you shouldn't have to see this," he said, smirking at them both. "They're bad examples."

"You and Momma act like that all the time," Jamie said, pulling his father's hands away from his face and looking up at them in confusion.

"Not in public, though," Nathan defended as he and Haley shared an amused look. "Seriously, you two need to get a room."

"Yes, we do," Brooke muttered, her voice low and husky as she looked back at Lucas, who was looking at her with the same desire that she was pretty sure she had on her face.

"Oh, come on!" Nathan exclaimed, laughing as he looked at Brooke and Lucas in disbelief.

"Hey, you suggested it," she replied, pulling Lucas' hand back in her own. She laughed at the look of mock terror that covered Nathan's face and shrugged. She wanted Lucas right now and that was what she was going to get. That's just the way it goes with Brooke Davis.

* * *

She was playing with his fingers, studying each one as she rubbed the tips of them with her own, much smaller fingers. He'd found that this was something she liked to do whenever they were alone, particularily when they were laying in bed together. She'd done it years ago in high school and he had always thought it was one of the many cute habits that she had had back then. He was glad to see that the habit hadn't died. He looked over at her, her face content as she looked down at the hand. His arms were wrapped around her as she rested against his chest in his bed.

He wasn't sure how late it was. It had been dark for awhile now so he was pretty sure it was sometime past ten. He hated thinking about time he was with her because he knew it would eventually run out. That was the bittersweet thing about them right now—they couldn't ever have enough time. But when she moved back, that would be a different story. They'd have forever then.

His eyes flickered over to his dresser, where the ring he intended on giving her was hidden. Right now, in this perfect moment with her, he knew it was time. He would ask her right now and, even if she said not yet, which he was pretty sure she would because of their current situation, he would wait for her. Because she was Brooke Davis and she was worth it.

Lucas removed his hold on her and sat up.

"Don't go," she said sleepily, reaching her arms back out for him. He smiled as he moved towards the dresser and dug through the drawer.

"Be patient, Pretty Girl," was all he said as he finally found the tiny black box. His fingers closed around it and he pulled it from its spot amongst his socks before moving back to her. She reached out for him, pulling him down on the bed, and he smiled against her lips as he sat on top of her.

"I've got something for you," he murmured as she placed a kiss on his neck. She immediately looked up, an eyebrow kinked.

"A present?" she asked curiously.

He shrugged. "I'm not really sure if I'd call it a present."

She sat up, her face brightened with curiosity and he came up with her. His hand was still closed around the box as they sat on the edge of his bed. He grabbed one of her hands with his free hand and smiled at her, not quite sure where to begin.

"Brooke, I love you…"

"I love you, too," she said, smiling at him questioningly. His grip on her hand tightened, but he found that he wasn't really nervous about this; he just wanted to do it right.

"You know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you," he continued, looking straight into her eyes. "And I know that I've been a lousy boyfriend to pretty much every girl I've ever been with but this time it's gonna be different. This time it's permanent. I believe that with all my heart."

This was it.

He wasn't sure if he should get down on his knees or just stay where he was. He'd done the knee thing with Peyton and Lindsay, so he decided to skip it this time. This time needed to be different because this time it was for good. This time he had no doubts.

He lifted his hand, his fist closed around the box, and let his fingers slowly open. Her eyes fell downward and widened when she saw the object in his hands.

He smiled lightly, opening the box and revealing his mother's ring. "I want to marry you, Brooke. I've never felt more sure about anything in my life. And I know that I've done this before with Peyton and Lindsay, but this time it's different. I'm not sure I can explain it…it just feels right. I have absolutely no doubts about us, Brooke. You're the woman that I am going to spend the rest of my life with. We're already starting a family together and you're the only girl I could ever imagine having one with. Everything about us is right and I know that we've still got a lot to deal with, but I just know that this is how it's meant to be."

He took a deep breath. "Brooke Davis, will you marry me?"

She was looking at him with wide eyes, a small tear slowly falling down her cheek. He brushed it away with his hand, letting it linger there as her face fell into it.

"You know that I want to," she murmured as his thumb slowly rubbed her cheek, "but…"

"Peyton," he said, nodding in understanding. He knew that it wouldn't be likely that she'd say yes yet; there was still too much going on with the whole Peyton ordeal.

"I'm not saying no," she said, removing her face from his hand. "And I'm not saying someday."

He raised in eyebrow. "What _are_ you saying?"

Her lips twitched into a small smile as she looked back down at the ring. "I'm saying yes. Of course, I'll marry you. I know that we've got this whole Peyton issue, but I can't say no, not when this feels so right. I'm going to be selfish for once and do what my heart is telling me to do."

He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. She said yes. She wanted to marry him. It was the most amazing feeling, second only to when Brooke had told him she was pregnant.

"Really?" he asked, looking at her intently. He needed to know that he had heard her correctly.

"Yes, Lucas," she murmured, bringing her hand up to his face. "You're the only guy I ever imagined marrying."

Grinning from ear to ear, he eagerly took the ring from its case and took Brooke's left hand into his. There were tears in her eyes as she looked down at the ring in amazement. He slowly slipped it onto her ring finger, admiring how perfectly it fit.

"Lucas, it's beautiful. It… it looks so familiar."

"It was the ring Keith gave my mom when they got engaged," he said, looking at her. Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked back at him. Another tear fell down her cheek and he could tell how overwhelmed all of this was making her.

"I…I can't even believe it," she muttered, wiping the tears away. "How did you…?"

"My mom gave it to me when I went to see her after I broke up with Peyton," he explained. "I kind of told her how I felt about you then and she gave it to me for safekeeping. She said to give it to you when we were ready." He laughed lightly at the memory. "We weren't even together, but she was already planning on me proposing to you. I guess Mom knows best."

Brooke smiled at him through her tears, the look on her face showing the immense gratitude that she was feeling.

"This means so much to me."

"Mom said you're the only girl she can imagine wearing it, besides herself. She says it's what Keith would have wanted."

Brooke's smile stretched even wider, the dimples that he loved so much showing more than ever. The tears were still falling freely down her face and he pulled her close to him, rubbing her back slowly as she rested her head in the crook of his neck.

"Sorry," she said as she pulled away and laughed through her tears, "it must be the hormones."

"You can cry all you want, Pretty Girl" he said, smiling as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"I've wanted this for so long," she murmured.

He pulled her back to him, gently kissing the top of her head. It was almost as if he was in a dream. He couldn't believe how amazing his life was going right now. He was getting married to Brooke and they were having a baby… It was perfect.

"Luke," she said, pulling away once again, "now we've got another huge announcement to tell Peyton."

He grinned guiltily and shrugged. "She'll get over it. Eventually, anyway."

She laughed, wiping away the few remaining tears that fell down her cheek. "I won't be able to wear this in New York," she muttered, looking down at the ring.

"You can wear it when you come home," he said, pulling her hand into his own and rubbing the ring gently with his finger. It looked and felt so right there. "You can wear it _forever_ when you come home."

She smiled, her eyes piercing his. "I can't wait."

He grinned back at her. "Me either."

And he couldn't. He would count down the days until she came home to home to him because only then would he feel complete. Until then, he would think of her every second of every minute and until she was back in his arms again, he would not be whole. Because she was his pretty girl and she was his everything.

**A/N: **Fluff, fluff, and more fluff! Another filler sort of chapter, but it was fun to read, right? Just what we all need after tonight's episode, which once again contained no Brucas. But we'll get some eventually. Until then, we've got fan fiction :D. Anyway, thanks so much for all your amazing reviews for the last chapter. I couldn't reply to most, but I really just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate them.

Until next time, thanks so much for reading and please remember to review.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Brooke's hand fell automatically down to her stomach as she stood in front of the door that led into her New York City apartment. She was back and she was not entirely happy about it. Behind that door she would once again face the center of the constant problem that she had been dealing with these past few months— Peyton. And she was not looking forward to do it.

She rested her hand there for a second, finding comfort from the child she knew was growing inside of her. It had been only five days since she had found out she was pregnant, but she felt like it had been much longer. It was almost unbelievable to her that a week ago she had no idea. She'd be showing soon—a couple of months give or take and she'd be forced to tell Peyton, if she hadn't already. But she needed to make it a goal to tell Peyton as soon as she could. This was something she could _not_ put off.

Taking a deep breath, she removed her hand from her belly and reached for the doorknob. It was time to face the music.

"B. Davis!"

To her surprise, she was immediately bombarded by her best friend. Peyton hugged her tightly and, as they stood at the front door, she felt the familiar guilty feeling rise once again.

"Hey, P. Sawyer!" she said, trying to be as enthusiastic as possible. Peyton didn't seem to think anything was out of the ordinary as she pulled back and looked at Brooke with a smile on her face.

"How was your trip?"

Brooke shrugged, taking her suitcase and moving into the apartment. "It was…productive."

"Good," Peyton replied, helping Brooke with her things. They both headed into Brooke's bedroom and Peyton flopped onto her bed. "So how much does everyone miss me, huh?" she asked, smiling at her jokingly.

Brooke chuckled lightly before looking at her seriously. "They miss you a lot, Peyton. They're all ready for you to come home."

"And I will…Just give me a little bit more time. Seriously, though, I feel really bad that you're here. I mean, it's great to see you and I missed you, but you were supposed to moving back to Tree Hill this week."

Brooke waved her off as she started unpacking her clothes. "It's not your fault, Peyton. I needed to get things settled in Tree Hill and that meant I had to leave New York before I could get everything settled _here_. I've just got a few more things to deal with here and then I'll leave. It's a minor setback, that's all."

"I know," Peyton said, smiling at her weakly, "but I know how much you miss everyone back home. Jamie's probably dying without his godmother there to spoil him and I know that you hate not being there for him."

"Yeah," she admitted, "but I'll be home before I know it. And so will you for that matter."

Peyton laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "If that what you want, Brooke."

"Well if it isn't my favorite hoe."

Brooke turned at the sound of the familiar face and grinned as she saw Rachel standing in the doorway, eyebrows raised in typical Rachel fashion.

"Hey, Rach," Brooke replied, standing up and hugging her crazy friend.

"Oh. Hi, Brooke. I was actually talking to Peyton, since she's the biggest hoe I know. But I can see why you would think I was talking about you."

Peyton threw a pillow at her. "Hey!"

"What?" Rachel said, shrugging. "It's the truth. But Brooke's my main bitch. She knows that."

Brooke shook her head and laughed. "Thanks, Rachel."

"No problem. So, how'd everything go?" Rachel's voice was slightly suggestive as she sat down next to them on the bed and stared at Brooke with a look that told her that she wanted to know every possible detail.

"Great," Brooke said, looking at her pointedly. They would have time to talk about everything later but right now she couldn't risk Rachel giving Peyton any sort of clue that something was going on.

"Brooke," Peyton said, before Rachel could say anything else, "you kind of caught me on a bad night. I really want to hang out but I promised the guys I'd meet them for dinner. They're having a little band meeting and it looks like they'll be finally making some sort of decision on coming down to Tree Hill or not."

Brooke kinked an eyebrow; this was definitely good news. "That's exciting, Peyton. And it's fine, we can hang out tomorrow night."

"Well, I'm gonna head out then. I'll see you both later."

"Good luck!" Brooke called out after her. She heard the muffled sound of Peyton's thanks, before the slam of the door.

Rachel wasted no time getting to the point. "So? How was it? You barely called me when you were there and I've been dying of curiosity."

"Like I said, it went great."

"Details, Brooke!" Rachel said impatiently. "Give me the details!"

Brooke chuckled and looked at her thoughtfully, trying to remember all of the important points of her trip. "Let's see, I went to the doctor first thing and he confirmed what we already knew. Then I told Haley everything. Then I went over to Lucas' and I told him. He was ecstatic, as expected. We spent pretty much all of our time together after that, although I did do a few things at the shop…And I think that's it…Oh, and he asked me to marry him."

Rachel's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

She nodded. "Yup."

They remained silent for a moment, both of them lost in their own thoughts, before Rachel spoke again. "You didn't say yes, did you?"

Brooke looked at her guiltily. "Should I not have?"

Rachel groaned and covered her hands over her face. "Come on, Brooke! You've already dug yourself into the biggest possible hole, but know you're digging even _deeper_, if that's even possible. Now, on top of everything, you've got to tell Peyton that you and Lucas are back together, that you're expecting a baby, _and_ now you're engaged. This is no small thing, Brooke."

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Rachel had the incredible power to make you feel great when you've been feeling horrible—to take away all your worries, if only for a little while. But she also had the power of making you feel horrible about yourself and that's what she was doing to Brooke right now.

"Way to make me feel better," she muttered, falling back on her bed. She let her hands fall down to her stomach, running them gently up and down her belly.

"Hey, I only speak the truth," Rachel said, shrugging as she situated herself closer to Brooke. "I'm only telling you this because I love you, Brooke. You're one of my best friends and I owe it you to be honest. So that's what I'm gonna do. This isn't like you, Brooke. You don't keep things like this from your best friend. You don't keep piling lie after lie until it finally becomes too much and you _have_ to tell her. This is getting too much and you know it. You _can't_ put this off much longer."

Brooke groaned in frustration. She _knew_ this and she _hated_ it. She hated lying to Peyton and she hated that everyday she seemed to be adding to the secrets that she was keeping from Peyton. She _absolutely_ hated it. But that didn't mean that she wasn't scared as hell to tell Peyton, because she definitely was. And that was why she was in this position right now.

"You think I don't know that?" she finally said, sighing deeply as she closed her eyes.

"I know I might sound a little bit harsh, but I just thought you should hear my opinion," Rachel said, her voice soft. Brooke felt her lie down next to her. "Let's face it, Brooke, if you keep these secrets much longer, you're just gonna find more and more that keep."

Brooke laughed humorlessly. "What else could I possibly keep from her?"

Rachel's soft laugh sounded next to her. "I don't know, but knowing you and Lucas, you'll find something."

* * *

After Brooke had finished unpacking, they'd bought a pizza and popped in a few old movies, eager to just hang out. So, Brooke was lying on the couch, a huge bowl of popcorn in her lap and a blanket wrapped tightly around her small body, when Peyton came bursting through the door. It was late, probably around midnight, and Rachel was sitting on the floor, her back leaning against the couch, as they both finished watching a movie.

"Okay people, I've got _big_ news!" Peyton exclaimed, her voice bursting with excitement. Brooke sat up from her position on the couch and focused her attention on her best friend, who stood in front of both of them with a big smile on her face.

"Spit it out, then," Rachel said, her eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"I have officially signed my _first_ band and second artist to Red Bedroom Records!"

"Peyton, that's great!" Brooke cried, pulling her into a hug.

Peyton sat next to Brooke on the couch and sighed contentedly. "It's amazing," she agreed.

"So does that mean you're moving back to Tree Hill?" Rachel asked, looking up at her.

Peyton nodded, looking at Rachel quickly before turning to Brooke. "I'm finally going home," she said, a small smile on her face. To Brooke's surprise, she didn't seem at all worried about—she actually seemed happy.

Words couldn't describe how amazingly relieved Brooke was to hear that. When she had made the decision to come back to New York for a little while longer, she thought she would be here for at _least _a couple of weeks. But to hear Peyton say that she was going home was like a dream come true. She could _finally_ go home and she'd feel good about it because Peyton would be with her.

"When will you leave?" Brooke asked eagerly.

"Well, all of the guys are gonna be coming down in about two weeks, but Josh is going down next week to start looking for a place to stay and I'll probably go with him."

"That's perfect," Brooke said, calculating everything in her head. Another week in New York would give her enough time to get everything settled at work and then she'd be ready to finally go home for good.

"I'm happy for you," Rachel said, interrupting Brooke from her thoughts, "but I'm really gonna miss you guys."

Brooke turned to look at the redhead, who was staring forlornly at the floor. An idea suddenly popped into her head and she knew that she had to see if Rachel would be interested.

"Rachel, how about you come back with us? I could use some help at the shop in Tree Hill and I think you've proven yourself trustworthy."

"I appreciate that, Brooke, but the last time I worked for you…it didn't work out so well."

"You were a different person then, Rachel," Brooke said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She needed her to know that she _wanted_ her to come with them. Somehow life just wouldn't be complete without Rachel in it. "I really think this could work out. And you won't have to worry about finding a place to live because you'll just live with me."

Rachel looked conflicted. "I don't know…"

"Come on, Rachel," Peyton said, smiling down at her in encouragement. "I never actually thought you and I could become friends, but you proved me wrong. You've been there for me these past few months and to not have you in my life anymore….well, it'd be weird. We need you, Rachel."

Rachel's frown turned into a smile as she shook her head. "Alright, alright, I'll come. If that's what you really want."

"It is," she and Peyton both said.

"So, it's settled," Brooke said, "we're leaving New York in one week and going home."

"Yup," Peyton said, nodding slowly. "We're finally going home."

Brooke was giddy with excitement and now she had only one thing on her mind—she needed to tell Lucas.

* * *

The phone rang one last time until it went to the machine. Lucas waited, too tired to get up from his position on the couch to answer it.

The sound of his mother's voice boomed throughout the house and he smiled guiltily. He had been avoiding her the past few weeks, not because he was angry with her or anything like that, but because he couldn't risk telling her about everything that had happened between him and Brooke. Even though Nathan and Haley now knew, as well as Rachel, he wasn't sure it was a good idea to tell anyone else just yet. He definitely didn't want Peyton to be the last to know and telling his mother wouldn't help that.

"Hi, Lucas, it's your mother. I know it's late over there, but I thought you still might be up. You always liked staying up late. Anyway, we haven't talked in awhile and I just wanted to see how things were going."

He got up quickly and headed towards the kitchen, grabbing the phone before she got the chance to hang up.

"Okay, well, I'll try calling you again tomorrow morning. I love you."

"Mom, are you still there?"

He heard a small shuffle on the other side of the line and then she spoke. "Luke, I'm glad you picked up. I'm sorry to call so late—."

"It's okay," he said, sitting down at the kitchen table, "you're on the other side of the world—you have a good excuse."

"Were you asleep?"

"I was just dozing on the couch," he replied honestly.

"I'm sorry to wake you."

"No problem. We haven't talked for awhile so it's worth it."

"I tried calling you a few times last week but you never got back to me."

"Yeah, sorry about that…" He didn't really have any excuse to tell her why he never called back except that he was distracted by Brooke, which was true, but he wasn't ready to let her know that.

"Something going on?" she asked knowingly.

So much was going on, but once again, she couldn't know that yet.

"Nope," he lied.

"Really…" She didn't sound at all convinced, but then again she knew him well; it was all too easy for her to catch him lying.

"Yup," he replied lightly.

"You know I really don't believe you," she said, her voice light with amusement, "but I'm going to wait for you to decide to tell me whatever major developments are going on in your life. I won't pressure you. I know something's going on. I just don't know _what_ it is."

He chuckled lightly. "Whatever, Mom."

"Does it have anything to do with Brooke?" she asked quickly.

He rolled his eyes, grinning as he ran hand through his short hair. "Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. Didn't you say you were gonna wait until I was ready?"

"Come on, Lucas," she said impatiently, "I'm you're mother. Don't you owe it to me to tell me what's happening in her life?"

"You'll know soon enough," he said. He suddenly heard the soft ring of his cell phone coming from the living room and he quickly headed back in there to see who was calling. "Just a second, Mom."

He picked up his phone, smiling at the name on the screen and answered it. "Hold on a sec," he said into his cell phone.

He then turned back to the other phone. "I gotta go, Mom. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

He heard a frustrated sigh over the line. "Alright. But you are going to tell me what's going on soon, okay?"

"Fine," he said, chuckling lightly. "I love you."

"I love you too. Sleep well."

"Thanks. Talk you soon."

He quickly hung up the phone and put his cell phone up to his ear. "What's up, Pretty Girl?"

"Oh, nothing much," she said, her voice casual and he smiled at the sound of it. He missed her like crazy. "Except… Peyton just signed that band and now we're all moving back to Tree Hill in a week!"

He froze, taken back by her announcement. "Wow," he said, his mouth twisting into a huge smile. He wasn't sure he could believe what she was saying—she was finally coming home. "That's great!"

"I know," she said, her voice calmer as she spoke softly into the phone. "I'm coming home, Luke. For good."

"I can't wait to see you again," he said, imagining her in his arms again. He would never be able to let her go once he saw her again, that was for sure.

"I miss you so much," she sighed.

"I miss you too… How's our baby?"

"He or she is doing well," she replied, her tone happy as her voice drifted into his ear.

"Still having morning sickness?" he asked. She'd thrown up a lot when she was with him, mostly at night, ironically, but he was hoping she'd be doing better right now, especially after a plane ride; she was probably exhausted.

"I haven't had it since I've gotten back, but then again I've only been here a few hours."

He chuckled. "Yeah, that might have something to do with it."

"I'm having a strange craving for a mayonnaise and mustard sandwich, though. I think I'm gonna go make one right now."

"At one in the morning?"

"Do I need to remind you that I'm eating for two?" she asked and he could hear the playfulness in her voice.

"Okay, okay, you've got a good excuse. Well, I'll leave you to make that sandwich. Although I can't say that just a mayonnaise and mustard sandwich sounds very appealing, but hey, it's your choice… I love you, Pretty Girl, and I can't wait until you're back in my arms again."

"I love you too and I'm counting down the days," she said softly. "Bye."

"Bye."

With that, he hung up the phone. He always hated saying goodbye to her, but he was happy that they wouldn't have to be doing it much longer. She was coming home. Finally. And Peyton was coming too, which had been Brooke's goal from the start. Things were finally starting to come into place.

Now all that was left was telling Peyton everything…

…He definitely wasn't looking forward to that.

**A/N:**It's been over a week! I think that's the longest I've ever made you all wait. I just wrote this chapter in one go right now, actually, so sorry if it's a bit rushed. I've seriously had no time to write this past week. I'm not sure exactly when the next chapter will be up, but hopefully you won't have to wait as long. Anyway, hope you liked the chapter—Brooke's finally going home! I know you've all been dying for her to finally go to home for good and it's _finally_ happening.

Thanks to all those who reviewed last chapter and please remember to do the same for this one!


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

"How does it feel to be home?" Brooke asked Peyton, turning to look at her as they drove down the familiar road towards her house. They were riding with Haley, who had picked them up from the airport, and Josh was sitting next to Peyton and Rachel on the other side in the back seat of Haley's car, getting a look at his new surroundings.

Lucas had been very insistent on picking them up but Brooke had denied the offer, knowing that it would be a bit too awkward for Peyton. Peyton needed to adjust slowly to being back home and having to see Lucas the moment she arrived wouldn't help anything.

Their living arrangements for the next week or so were going to be a bit stressful on Brooke's part. Josh was going to be staying with them until he found a place for his band to live and, if they couldn't find one within the next week, it was possible the whole band could be staying at her house for a few days. This, added with everything else, meant it would be very hard to sneak out and see Lucas at his own house, but she supposed it was the price she had to pay for all the lying she'd been doing lately.

"It actually feels kind of good," Peyton said, smiling as she looked at Brooke. "Weird, but good."

They pulled up to her house and Brooke felt an immense feeling of pleasure as she realized that this time she could actually unpack all of her clothes. She was home for good and it felt great.

"So, don't get mad at me," Haley said, looking at them with a guilty smile on her face as she put the car in park, "but Jamie was dying to see his aunts Brooke and Peyton, so he's waiting inside your house. It was supposed to be a surprise but I thought I'd warn you."

Brooke smiled widely at the mention of Jamie's name. "That's great, Hales."

"Yeah," Peyton agreed, "why would we be mad?"

"Well…I'm pretty sure Lucas is here too."

"Oh. Well I guess that explains it." Peyton smiled awkwardly and Josh put a hand on her knee sympathetically.

Brooke, on the other hand, couldn't have been happier, although she wasn't going to openly show it. It had only been a week since she had last seen Lucas, but it felt much, _much_ longer.

"Well, I had to see him sooner or later," Peyton said, after a quick bout of silence, "so I guess it's okay. Plus, when he was in New York everything went great. I think it's gonna be okay." She said this all with a burst of confidence that made Brooke proud of her. Peyton sounded so sure of herself, so comfortable with the idea of seeing Lucas, that she knew that everything would be alright.

"Great," Haley said, "then let's get a move on, shall we?"

Brooke didn't want to look eager as she slipped quickly out of the car and practically ran to the door, but the idea of seeing both Lucas and Jamie in such a short amount of time was extremely enticing.

Jamie greeted her at the door, as expected, and she pulled him into a tight hug.

"Are you surprised to see me?" he asked, looking up at her with wide eyes.

"Oh, yeah," she said, nodding enthusiastically. He didn't need to know that Haley warned them. "It's the best surprise I've had in a while."

"Hey, Brooke," Lucas said, coming up behind them with a smile on his face. She set Jamie down and walked towards him.

"Hi, Luke," she said, grinning as she pulled him into a hug. He clung onto her, stringing his hand lightly through her hair before she quickly pulled away. Peyton and the others would be inside any minute.

"I missed you," he said quietly, touching her face gently.

"I missed you, too," she murmured.

He moved his hand away just as she heard a commotion behind her. It was a short reunion but it was enough for now.

"Hi, Lucas," Peyton said, coming up from behind Brooke and smiling at Lucas confidently.

"Hey, Peyton." Lucas grinned. "It's great to have you back."

Brooke moved to stand next to Lucas just as Josh appeared next to Peyton. "Lucas, this is Josh Evans, the bassist of the band I just signed."

Brooke smiled as Josh, with his cute crooked smile, reached out to shake Lucas' hand.

"It's good to finally meet you," Lucas said, smiling at him sincerely.

"You too," Josh replied.

As of right now, everything seemed to be going smoothly, which pleased Brooke. They all moved into her living room where Nathan was waiting for them. After all the introductions, the men settled down on the couch and the women headed onto her back porch.

"So…" Haley said, looking at Peyton suggestively, "Josh is definitely cute."

"Yes, yes I know," Peyton said, chuckling lightly. "But we're just friends."

"Not for long," Rachel muttered.

Peyton nudged her playfully. "Rachel's been pushing for me and Josh to get together ever since I first met the guy."

"What can I say?" Rachel shrugged. "I'm a matchmaker. You two just fit."

They all laughed before Haley turned to Peyton seriously. "Really, Peyton, it's great to have you back. We all missed you so much."

"Thanks," Peyton said, putting an arm around Haley's shoulder. "I missed you all too. And thanks for everything you've been doing at the studio. I wouldn't have been able to keep it if it weren't for you."

"It really wasn't a problem," Haley said. "It was actually kind of fun. I think I'm gonna have to help you out when you start recording with the band."

"Definitely," Peyton agreed. "This is good, though. I think it's good timing. I mean, I've signed the guys, my career's back on track, and I can get a move on with my life. It really feels right to be home."

"I think you're right, Peyton," Brooke said, putting a hand on her arm.

And in her mind she _knew_ that Peyton was right. Peyton could finally move on. She only wondered how her news would affect her in the end...

...On second thought, she'd rather not think about it.

* * *

After spending time getting to know Josh, Lucas knew that Peyton had found herself a good guy. He was genuine and kind and he really seemed to care a lot about Peyton. She couldn't have asked for anyone better.

But, as he sat on the couch, Jamie on his lap, his thoughts wandered back to Brooke. He missed her. He _needed_ her. And he knew that he couldn't have her. Not tonight at least. Not when everyone was here, in her own house, where she was expected to stay. How on earth was he going to get to be alone with her now? It just didn't seem possible.

It was like he was being punished for all the secrets he and Brooke were keeping and, until they came clean, he and Brooke would never get the chance to be properly alone.

It sucked. But in a way it seemed fair. They would just have to tell Peyton as soon as possible.

As Nathan and Josh talked about one of Josh's band mates who was apparently a basketball star in high school, Lucas slipped quietly out of the living room and onto the porch. All of the girls were there, talking about something he couldn't make out. But his eyes were focused on Brooke. As he stood in the doorway, he watched as she talked cheerfully to Haley, her arm resting on Peyton's shoulder. She was saying something about Clothes Over Bros, but he wasn't sure what. All he noticed was her smile and the way her body moved as she leaned against the railing.

He cursed his luck for all that was keeping him away from her.

And then Jamie appeared next to him and called out to Brooke and she turned to look at them both, her eyes lighting up at the sight of them.

"There's my two favorite Scotts. Are you gonna come join us or not?"

He wanted to, he really did, but his lack of self control around her would surely come out if he did, and that was something Peyton _definitely_ couldn't see.

"I'm actually gonna head home," he said, taking a few steps out onto the porch.

Brooke's smile turned into a frown as she studied him. He knew that she wanted him to stay, to see if they could find a few minutes to spend alone together, but he just wasn't comfortable being around her when Peyton was there.

It made everything more real.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I've got some things I need to do." He walked over to Peyton and put a hand awkwardly on her shoulder. "I'm glad you came home, Peyton. And it was great to meet Josh. He seems like a really nice guy."

She laughed lightly and nodded. "Thanks, Lucas."

"I'll see you all later," he said, looking at Brooke one last time as he turned quickly around and made his way through the house and back out the front door.

He didn't want to leave, as a matter of fact it was the last thing he wanted to do, but he had a strange feeling that leaving was the right thing to do. Maybe, just maybe, it would be the only way to get Brooke alone…

* * *

She watched with narrowed eyes as he walked out the door, confused about his actions. Why would he want to leave when she had only gotten here less than an hour ago? They had barely spent any time together.

"Um," Brooke said, ignoring the others around her, "I'm just gonna go see if everything's okay with Lucas. He seemed kind of off."

Not waiting for any sort of reply, she quickly followed him out the house. He was waiting at his car, leaning against it as if he was expecting her to come. He wore a triumphant smile as she met him there.

"Somehow I knew you'd follow me," he said.

She looked at him curiously. "So why are you bailing out so quickly? We just got here."

"It's just hard…being around you and not being able to _really_ be around you. You know what I mean?"

She kinked an eyebrow. "It's better than nothing, though."

"Yeah…" He looked over her shoulder and she followed his eyes, seeing nothing. When she met his eyes again, he placed his hand gently on her stomach before grabbing her other hand in his. "How're you doing?" he asked softly.

"Good," she said, smiling lightly. "Although it really sucks that we're not gonna be able to find much alone time with each other."

"I've been thinking…" he said, his eyes narrowing.

She waited for him to continue, but he just absently rubbed her belly. "About what?" she pressed.

"I think that we need to tell Peyton about us. Soon. As in tomorrow or possibly sooner."

"Lucas…"

This was something that she knew that they would inevitably need to talk about now that she was really home, but in the back of her mind she still wanted to wait until she had finished her first trimester. Just to give her more time to figure things out. One more month—that was all she needed.

"I know you wanted to wait until you reached twelve weeks," he continued, as if reading her mind, "but it's just too long, Brooke. We can't keep this from her any longer."

She sighed, knowing he was right. But she wasn't sure she was ready to tell Peyton tomorrow. Not when she was so busy with getting everything ready for the band. She was already stressed enough as it was and Brooke couldn't ruin this for her.

"How about we wait until everything gets settled with her and the band?"

"Brooke," Lucas said, the frustration in his voice clearly obvious, "I feel like no matter what, you'll find some way to put this off."

"Hear me out, Lucas. She's got so much going on right now. She's helping Josh find a house, she's getting ready to start recording, she needs to get them some gigs—she's busy and she's stressed. You'd know that if you'd been with her this past week. Telling her everything is just going to add to that. And to be honest I think it could ruin whatever buzz she has about everything. Just a couple more weeks, Lucas. That's all I'm asking for. And I'm not doing this for me, either. I'm doing it for Peyton."

He sighed, running a hand through his short hair wearily. "Fine. But you do realize that means two more weeks of sneaking around? Who knows how little time we're going to be able to spend together."

"I know," she replied, putting a hand on his hip, "but it's a sacrifice we're going to have make."

"More like a consequence we have to suffer," he muttered.

"I know it's tough," she said, looking at him softly, "but we can make it."

"I just…" He looked confused and irritated and she knew that she wasn't helping him much by continually refusing to tell Peyton, but in the end that's what they needed to do. "I feel like we're doing something _wrong_, Brooke. I feel like we're cheating or something. And the thing is, we're _not_. We haven't done anything wrong. Peyton and I have been over this whole time, yet we're acting like Peyton and I did when…"

He didn't finish his sentence and she frowned as his eyes fell to the ground, his face twisting into a troubled expression. She knew what he was talking about, though, and she didn't really have any desire to think about when he cheated on her with Peyton way back in high school. That was one of those memories of them that she liked to forget as often as possible. They were different people then, anyway; no could deny how much they had changed.

He _was_ right, though. Day after day, they kept secrets from Peyton that they knew would hurt her. They _knew_ it would kill her. Yet, technically they weren't doing anything wrong. Lucas had been single for a month before they had gotten together. There was no cheating at all. But for some reason it felt like there was, except it wasn't coming from Lucas' side at all, it was coming from hers.

She was the one who felt like she was cheating on Peyton, like she was betraying her. And in a way, she was. She was pretty sure that Peyton would see her actions as a betrayal whenever she found out, but she was also pretty sure that it didn't matter _when _Peyton found out—it would still hurt just the same.

"We aren't doing anything wrong…" She didn't really know what to else to say. He just looked at her penetratingly, his hand rubbing her wrist softly. "We can figure it out during the next few days, I guess."

"Okay," he said simply. Without saying anything else, he pulled her close to him, rubbing his hand up and down her back. "Come by any chance you get," he whispered into her hair, "and I'll be home."

She nodded, letting her body rest against his for a few more moments before pulling away. "Everything will work out, Lucas," she said quietly as he slipped into his car.

He nodded, a small smile on his face. "I know."

**A/N: **I didn't make you wait as long as last time, did I? :D. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! It's kind of short, but it felt right ending it there. Thanks so much for all the reviews last chapter. I haven't able to respond lately to reviews, but I still wanted you to know that I've read them all and I appreciate every single one!


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Almost two weeks had passed and she and Lucas had yet to tell Peyton. The clock was ticking, though, and very soon Brooke knew that all of the secrets they'd been hiding would finally come out. It was only a very short matter of time.

She and Lucas had spent very little time with each other during the past few weeks, making her think that it was probably for the best that they told Peyton everything soon. They'd only managed a couple of quick nights together and a few "dates" during the day when Peyton was at the studio. It hadn't been nearly enough for either of them, though.

On the up side, Peyton was flying high. The band had moved down and rented their own apartment not far from Peyton's studio and had officially starting recording their first album. Things were looking good for her.

Now, as she sat in the back room of her shop, looking over the latest inventory and wishing she was with Lucas, she wondered if by this time next week Peyton would know everything. The thought both scared her and thrilled her because she knew that she wouldn't have to lie anymore—she and Lucas could be together and everyone would know it.

"B. Davis, I _finally_ found you!" Brooke laughed as Peyton walked into the backroom, a look of annoyance on her face. "I've been looking _everywhere_ for you."

Brooke looked at her curiously. "You could've called my cell."

"I did," Peyton said exasperatingly, "but it went straight to voice mail."

"Oh…" Brooke sighed, realizing she had turned off her phone hours ago. Her work back in New York had been calling almost nonstop since she had came home and she had finally had enough of it earlier today and turned her phone off. It wasn't like they weren't used to working without her, but she knew without her or Victoria there things were a lot tougher than normal. But she wasn't up to dealing with it; she was stressed enough as it was.

"Sorry," she continued, "I turned it off earlier to escape work."

Peyton just shrugged, leaning against a shelf and looking at her. "It's okay… I actually came over here to let you know that I booked a gig for the guys."

"That's great, Peyton," Brooke said, smiling over the notebook she was looking at. "When is it?"

"Tonight actually," Peyton said, beaming at her, "at Tric. In a couple of hours—they're on at ten."

Brooke kinked an eyebrow. "Kind of short notice."

"Yeah, it was a little last minute, but it's gonna be great. It's awesome that their first show down here is gonna be there, though. Lucas is gonna be there and Nathan and Haley are coming too. Rachel, as usual, will be there too. Do you think you'll be able to make it?"

After all the work and stress she'd been dealing with the past couple of weeks, a night out at Tric sounded amazing. Of course there'd be no drinking, but she didn't need that to just relax and hang out with the people she loved.

"Of course I can make it!" she said, setting all of her work stuff onto the desk behind her. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Great," Peyton said, "now let's go home and get ready. You look like hell."

Brooke rolled her eyes before glaring at her. "You're so mean, Peyton."

Peyton laughed. "Seriously, Brooke, you've been staying at the shop until closing almost every night. You need to relax a little bit."

"I agree," Brooke said, following Peyton through the shop and locking the door for the night. "And that's why I'm going tonight. It will be the perfect time to do just that."

* * *

She wanted to look good tonight. Mostly for Lucas, but partly for herself. As she looked at herself in the mirror, the black dress clinging tightly to each and every curve, she felt more relaxed than she had in awhile. This would probably be the last time she would go out publicly like this before she starting showing and she was going to take advantage of it.

"Whoa, Brooke Davis looks hot!"

She chuckled lightly, turning to look at Haley as her friend stood in the doorway of her bedroom.

"Hey, Haley," she said, walking over to her. "I thought we were meeting you at Tric?"

"Well, we were going to, but since Lucas is driving there with us, he wanted to stop by and pick you up. He says we're doing double dates."

"Mmm, sounds good," she said, looking at herself one last time before moving past Haley and heading into the living room.

Peyton had left an hour ago, needing to set things up with the band, and Rachel had gone with her. So now it was just her, Lucas, Nathan, and Haley in the house and for once she was free to act normal around Lucas.

"Hi, boyfriend," she said, smirking at Lucas as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Hi, Pretty Girl," he said, pressing his lips gently against hers.

She heard Nathan's scoffing behind them, but ignored it. Right now, this moment belonged to her and Lucas. His hands tied around her back and she let her head rest against his chest.

"Are we ready to go?" Nathan asked after a few moments of silence passed.

"Yup." Brooke smiled, stringing her hand through Lucas' as she led the way outside.

With the start that she was having, she had the very good feeling that tonight was going to be great.

* * *

The music was playing, the drinks were flowing, and for the first time in awhile Peyton finally felt fully and completely happy. This was where she was supposed to be, right here in Tree Hill, where everything had started for her. It was perfect.

As she sat at the bar, a small content smile on her face, she spotted some familiar faces amongst the crowd.

"Hey, guys!" she said as Brooke, Lucas, Nathan, and Haley all came to join her. "I'm glad you could all make it."

"I can't wait to hear them, Peyton," Haley said enthusiastically. "From all that you've been saying about them, they sound amazing."

"I'm gonna be blunt," Peyton said, smirking at all of them, "if they weren't they definitely wouldn't be here."

"When do they come on?" Lucas asked, and she turned to look at him. He looked good, _very_ good, but she found that the desire she had felt for him a few months ago wasn't there anymore, and that made her happier than she could imagine. She wasn't tied down to him anymore and what they used to have so long ago. They were over. And it felt surprisingly good.

"About a half hour," Peyton said, taking a sip of her drink. "It's looking more like it's gonna be a ten-thirty show."

There was a moment of comfortable silence before they were interrupted by a deep voice.

"What can I get you guys?"

Peyton watched as Brooke's face twisted into an odd smile at the sound of the newcomer's voice and turned to look at the figure behind the bar.

"Hi, Brooke," Owen said, nodding as he noticed her presence. "Long time no see."

"Yeah," Brooke said shortly. "When did you get back to Tree Hill?"

"A few months ago," he said. "I haven't seen you around much."

"She's been in New York," Peyton said, for some reason feeling the need to explain for her friend.

As she looked at Brooke, her white face a bit paler than normal, she wondered if anything could really happen between Brooke and Owen again. He had seemed like a really good guy at first, that is until he up and left without even saying goodbye the moment he heard Brooke was getting Angie. He obviously had a fear of commitment and she knew that commitment was definitely something Brooke needed. Something in her head told her that they were over and Peyton was fine with that. She wanted whatever guy Brooke ended up with to be perfect for her, to treat her the way she deserved to be treated.

She looked over at Lucas, who was staring at Owen with a strange look on his face. It almost looked like he was angry or maybe jealous, but she couldn't tell which. Was it possible...? _No_, Peyton shook the thought out of her head. Things had been over between the two of them for five years now. There was no way that something was going on between them.

But as she studied Lucas, she couldn't deny that there was something in his eyes as he stared at the bartender that was not the normal way he would look at a potential love interest of a friend. He definitely didn't look that way at Josh.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Ed came up behind her. "Hey, sorry to interrupt, but we need you in the back."

"Sure," Peyton said, excusing herself and following him through the crowd.

She didn't want to think about anything going on between Brooke and Lucas. Not right now at least. She knew that what they had had back in high school had been special, but she wasn't sure she was comfortable with the idea of them getting back together. Then again, if it made Brooke happy, then she really didn't have a say…

…But like she said, she wasn't going to think about it.

* * *

Brooke looked slowly around the club, twisting the straw in her water around as she tried to avoid having to talk to Owen again. He was a good guy, in his own special little way, but she didn't like the way he was looking at her—like he felt the need to prove himself to her. And, as she watched Lucas make his way through the crowd back to her, she knew that Owen didn't stand a chance.

"Hey," he said, smiling as he put a subtle hand around her waist. "How're you doing?"

"Good," she said, smiling at his touch. Truth was, though, she wasn't feeling as good as she thought she would. She was a little bit bored and Owen was annoying her and, since she had turned her cell back on, her work had tried calling her at least three times, despite the fact that it was almost ten-thirty at night. And, to top it all off, there was a dull sensation of pain in her lower abdomen that she definitely wasn't liking. She wasn't too worried about it, after all the doctors had told her that menstrual cramp-like pains were normal in the early stages of pregnancy, but it wasn't good timing.

"Oh, God, I missed this place," Rachel said as she came up behind them, drink in hand.

Brooke laughed. "I knew you'd say that. Find any hot guys?"

"Oh, I've found a _lot_ of hot guys, Brooke," Rachel replied, "but the night is still young and I'm keeping my options open."

She watched in amusement as Rachel swept back through the crowd over to a cute black-haired guy standing near the stage.

"She'll never change," Brooke said, turning to look back at Lucas.

He chuckled. "I think you're right about that."

"Need a refill?"

Brooke looked over at Owen as he stood behind the bar, looking at them both with a polite smile. Lucas shook his head.

"I'll get another water," Brooke said, handing him her cup.

"No alcohol tonight?" Owen said, grinning as he filled her cup. She looked uncomfortably down at the bar. "What're you the designated driver?" He chuckled lightly, handing her the drink and she nodded. It was a very good excuse.

"Someone's gotta be responsible," she said, allowing a small smirk to grace her face. Lucas' grip on her waist tightened slightly and she got the feeling that he didn't like Owen too much right now. It was a bit weird for her, seeing Lucas jealous. It was usually the other way around for them. And for some weird, twisted reason, she kind of liked it.

"So how've you been, Owen?" she asked, taking a sip of her water.

"Pretty good," he replied, smiling as he poured Lucas another drink, despite the fact he didn't ask for one. Lucas took it, not bothering to complain. "Keeping busy," he continued. "How've you been?"

"Good," she said, and she felt Lucas' hand move to her knee. "I've been doing a lot of stuff back in New York, but I'm home for good now."

"How about you, Lucas?" Owen asked, smiling at him sincerely. "How you holding up since everything?"

Lucas smiled politely at him. "I've been great actually, thanks."

"I've been gone awhile," Owen said, "so I'm not really up on the news. What's been going on with everyone?"

"Well, since Lindsay left Lucas at the altar," Brooke said, eyeing Lucas mischievously, "Lucas and Peyton got engaged."

"Congrats—."

"Not so fast," Brooke said, laughing lightly as she held up a hand, "they broke up over three months ago."

"Oh," Owen said, looking at Lucas sympathetically. "Sorry about that, man."

"It's okay," Lucas replied, shrugging lightly. "It worked out for the best."

"And what about you and the baby you're taking care of?"

Brooke's eyes narrowed at the mention of Angie. Owen had not proven himself to be the guy she needed in her life during that situation, that was for sure. "Angie's been gone for awhile now. After her surgery, she had a clean bill of health and was ready to go back to her family. It was a temporary thing, Owen."

"Oh…" He looked uncomfortably over at the crowd. "Listen, uh, I gotta get back to work. We can talk later if you want."

She nodded, although she didn't really have that much of a desire to talk to him about that issue. He'd made his point when he left. The dull feeling in her stomach had also moved to her back and she was hoping Peyton's band would get a move on—she was growing more tired by the minute.

"You okay?" Lucas asked for what felt like the billionth time that night.

"Yes, Lucas," she said, leaning against the bar. "I'm fine."

"Okay," he said, looking at her curiously. "So, uh, Owen. It's been a while since you last saw him."

She smiled as she twisted around to look directly at him. "You have absolutely nothing to worry about, you know that right? I mean, we're engaged and having a baby so you really should know that by now."

He smirked at her. "I do know that, but I can't help but be a little insecure around him."

"Lucas, Owen doesn't stand a chance against you. He never did."

"I know…" He smiled, looking over at the dance floor. "So, you wanna dance?"

"Nope," she said, grinning at him. Normally she would take him up on that offer, but right now, all she wanted to do was sit and relax while she could.

"Okay," he laughed. "Then I'll jus sit here with you. They should be coming on stage any minute now, anyway."

She leaned her body against his, just close enough to feel his touch and far away enough to look simply friendly to anyone else.

"This is nice…" he murmured and she smiled.

"Yeah, it is."

The lights dimmed and Peyton was suddenly on stage introducing the guys. Haley and Nathan made their way over to them, both smiling widely as they waited for the band to start.

Peyton couldn't have looked prouder as the band made their way on stage. She practically floated down the stairs, making her way back towards all of them and standing next to Brooke.

Then they started playing and Peyton's face was full of pure joy. As he watched them play their first song, Lucas seemed to really be enjoying them and Brooke guessed that this was the type of band he and Peyton both went for. She'd heard them countless times in New York, so this wasn't really new to her, but she was happy that Lucas could share in the thing that had really shaped Peyton's life back into what it used to be. Haley also seemed totally enthralled by the guys as she watched them play with a smile on her face, her head bobbing to the music.

A sharp pain suddenly pierced her stomach and she let out a soft gasp that she knew wouldn't be noticed over the sound of the music. Sure enough, no one's attention had been diverted. The pain didn't go away though, and it was stronger than any cramp she'd ever had before. She tried to ignore it, but as another wave shook her body, she couldn't handle it any longer. She felt a small bead of sweat form on her forehead and she quickly wiped it away.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom really quick," she said, quiet enough so that only Lucas and Peyton could hear.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked, his eyes narrowing.

She nodded, putting on a strained smile and trying to stay as composed as possible. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be back in a second."

She turned away quickly, struggling to make her way through the thick crowd and into the back. The pain seemed to be getting stronger and stronger and by the time she made it into the empty bathroom, she was sure that this definitely wasn't normal.

Her body shook with pain and she felt a new sensation: fear. This definitely couldn't be good.

* * *

Lucas' eyes followed Brooke as she walked through the crowd away from them. He was worried about her. She had been pale and her face had looked strained. Like she was in pain. His heart sank as he wondered if something could be wrong with the baby. Looking over at Peyton, he could tell that she, too, look worried.

"I think I'm gonna go check on her," she said and he nodded.

"That's probably a good idea," he said, thankful that she would mention that, because if she didn't, then he definitely would've followed after her and that definitely would have made Peyton very curious.

Peyton slipped through the crowd, disappearing almost immediately, and Lucas sighed. He couldn't concentrate on the music, not when he was worrying about Brooke and their child.

A few minutes later, Nathan turned to him. "What happened to Brooke and Peyton?" he asked, noticing their absence for the first time.

"They're in the bathroom."

Haley looked at him anxiously. "Is everything okay?"

"I don't know…"

Just then, he felt a tap on his shoulder and he turned quickly at the touch. His eyes widened at the sight in front of him. This was one person he had _not_ been expecting to see…

* * *

Peyton twisted the doorknob to the bathroom. It was locked.

"Brooke?" she called, pounding on the door. "It's me, Peyton. Can you unlock the door?"

It was a few seconds before she heard the click of the door and then she cracked it open. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah…" Brooke's voice sounded weak as she pushed the door open before closing it once again. Brooke was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, her head tucked between her knees.

"Brooke, are you okay?" she asked, her voice full of anxiety. There was something about the way she was acting that told her that she definitely wasn't.

Brooke took a deep breath, looking back at her, and nodded very slowly. "I think I'm gonna be okay. The pain's dying down a bit."

"Oh," Peyton said, a small wave of relief washing over her. She sat down next to her best friend, putting an arm around her. "Cramps?" she asked sympathetically.

Brooke just stared straight ahead at the white wall in front of them. She didn't say anything, she just took deep and steadying breathes.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Peyton asked, putting a hand on her knee.

Her eyes fell to the ground and Peyton made out a small tear rolling down her cheek.

"Peyton, I have to tell you something," she finally said.

Peyton's eyes narrowed as she looked as Brooke turned seriously to her. But before Brooke could say anything else, she saw a small trickle of blood appear on the floor.

"Brooke, you're bleeding!"

Peyton was worried now. Brooke gasped, her eyes widening as she looked down at the small puddle of blood that had formed at her feet. Suddenly she was crying and Peyton knew that this wasn't any old period. Something was wrong. _Seriously_ wrong.

"Go get Lucas," Brooke suddenly cried, looking at her with tears in her eyes.

"What?" Peyton asked in confusion.

"I need Lucas." The tears where streaming down her face and Peyton felt confusion overwhelm her body. "I think I'm losing it, Peyton," she choked out.

"What, Brooke?" she asked, her own eyes filling up with tears. She felt so overwhelmed with both worry and fear for her friend, that she had no idea what to do. "What are you losing?"

"The baby," she whimpered.

And then it all clicked. And she was still as confused as hell. But she needed to do something—she couldn't let Brooke lay here like this. There was a pounding on the door and she opened it to find Haley standing there.

"Call 911," Peyton said, before slipping past a dumbstruck Haley and making her way back into the club.

So many thoughts ran through her head as she walked swiftly towards Lucas and the others. How the hell could Brooke be pregnant? She wasn't dating anyone as far as Peyton knew, but then again she didn't _need _to be dating anyone to get pregnant. But why would she keep this from her—after all Brooke had wanted a kid for awhile now and this was something you would share with your best friend the moment you found out.

But she wasn't going to dwell on this right now, not when Brooke and her baby were both in danger. She needed to get to Lucas right away…Lucas…

Suddenly she knew. She knew why Brooke wouldn't tell her about this, she knew why Lucas had been so jealous earlier, and she knew why they had been acting so inseparable lately.

And it was like a punch in the stomach.

Her mind was running circles when she finally reached him. She felt like she was going insane.

"Lucas," she said, and a sudden calmness washed over her. It was almost like an out of body experience. He looked at her, his eyes searching her own for answers. "Something's wrong with Brooke…the baby…" She didn't need to say anything else—he was already racing through the crowd.

She stood there, her hands at her side, staring blankly as she let everything hit her. She couldn't understand…she couldn't believe…

"Peyton?"

She turned slowly at the sound of a familiar voice. A voice she hadn't heard in a long time.

"Jake?"

**A/N: **I have been planning this chapter ever since I first wrote this story and it's definitely my favorite so far. Full of the drama that is One Tree Hill…

… But Peyton _finally_ knows _and_ Jake's back! I couldn't leave him out of this story—I just love him too much. I shouldn't actually be writing right now, I should be studying for school, but I just _had _to write it and get it up as soon as I could. You all deserve it for being such amazing readers.

So…with that said, please remember to review!!


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

His heart was beating a million times per minute and fear was gripping his stomach. Lucas couldn't hear anything as he raced through the crowds, bumping into people the whole way; all he could concentrate on was Brooke. He didn't know what was wrong with her, except that something _was_. The fact that Peyton knew about the baby barely seemed to register in his mind. Brooke was the only thing that mattered right now.

He couldn't lose her.

Then he was at the bathroom. The door was open and Haley was sitting next to Brooke on the floor, her arms wrapped around Brooke soothingly. Brooke's eyes were closed but she was taking deep, steady breathes. His eyes fell down to the red liquid on the floor.

Blood.

His heart skipped a beat.

And then he was on the floor and he was sitting right at her knees. He pulled her hands into his and looked at her as calmly as he could. He needed to stay as strong as he could for her. Brooke's hands clung tightly onto his the moment he touched her and he took that as a good sign.

"Did you call an ambulance?" he asked Haley.

"They're on their way."

"Do you want me to go wait for them outside?"

Lucas turned around at the question, noticing for the first time that Nathan had followed him to the bathroom.

He nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Nate."

Without a word, Nathan flew out of sight. He focused his attention back on Brooke.

"Brooke, are you alright?" he asked, wiping her face gently with his hand. It was a ridiculous question because he knew that everything was _not_ alright, but he felt the need to ask it anyway.

She just shook her head, tears streaming silently down her face.

"The bleeding stopped," Haley said, and he looked over at her and nodded…Maybe that was a good sign.

"Lucas," Brooke choked out and his eyes pierced through hers. She was looking right at him now, her eyes filled with fear, and it broke his heart. "Peyton, she…"

He just ran his hand gently through her hair, trying to calm her down. "Shhh, Brooke, it's okay. Don't worry about Peyton right now."

"She must be so angry…" she murmured, her eyes closing again as she rested her head against his hand.

"She's not, Brooke," he whispered soothingly. "She loves you."

More tears fell down Brooke's face and she took suddenly took a sharp intake of breath. His eyes narrowed.

"What happened, Brooke?" He looked to see if there was more bleeding, but thankfully there didn't appear to be.

She just shook her head. "I'm okay… The pain's…going away."

He looked helplessly over at Haley, who looked just as powerless as him. Then he heard the distant sound of a siren and he knew that they would be here any minute. His grip tightened around Brooke's hand.

"I'm so scared, Lucas," she whispered.

He took a deep breath, trying to control his emotions. He was scared too, but he needed to comfort her, to let her know that it was going to be okay, that their baby couldn't possible be…No, he couldn't even think it.

"It's going to be okay," he said, pulling her as close to him as possible. She'd stopped crying now. Instead she simply sat there, looking more vulnerable than he had ever seen her in the entire time he had known her.

And it scared him more than he cared to admit.

* * *

"Jake?"

She couldn't believe her eyes. There was no way that Jake Jagielski was standing right in front of her. But he was. And for a moment she forgot everything that had happened only a few minutes ago and concentrated on the man standing in front of her. The man she had once loved more than anyone else in the world.

"Peyton," he said, walking a few steps to meet her. His eyebrows were furrowed with concern and he looked slightly confused. "Is everything okay?"

She shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. No, everything was _not_ okay and she couldn't lie to Jake about that; he'd see right through her.

Suddenly his arms were wrapped around her and it was like they'd never been apart. It felt so right to be in his arms—so perfect. How could she have ever left him?

"What's going on?" he asked as he pulled away slightly.

"I—."

She was interrupted as Rachel suddenly appeared behind Jake, a confused expression covering her face.

"Where is everyone?" she asked. Before Peyton could answer, Rachel looked at Jake with raised eyebrows. "Who's the stud?"

Jake's lips cracked into a small smile, but Peyton just looked at Rachel seriously. A small tear ran down her cheek.

"Peyton," Rachel said, springing forward immedietly and putting an arm around her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"There's something wrong with Brooke," she answered shakily. "She's pregnant, Rachel." She could barely say the words. "She—she might be having a miscarriage."

"What?" Rachel looked shocked. "Oh my God, I've got to go make sure she's okay."

Peyton nodded. "She's in the bathroom. I'll go with you."

She looked at Jake for a moment. His eyes were focused solely on her and he took her hand. It was amazing how even after five years he could have this affect on her—he could still know when she needed comfort and when she didn't. Right now, she definitely did.

She followed Rachel through the crowd and Jake was right behind her, his hand in hers. By the time they got there, paramedics were crowding the hall. Brooke was on a stretcher. She looked calm, but for some reason it unnerved Peyton. And as the paramedics rolled her out of the club Peyton saw Brooke looking straight at her with what could only be described as a tortured expression—she looked like she was trying to silently apologize for everything she'd kept from her.

Peyton felt her heart clench; it was just like Brooke to care more about someone else during a time when the only people she should be worrying about is herself. Peyton's eyes latched on to hers and she smiled, trying to wordlessly convey that she understood, that Brooke shouldn't worry about her right now; she'd be okay.

And then Brooke was rolled outside and she was out of sight. Haley was standing in the hallway, Nathan's arm around her shoulders, her face stretched in fear. Rachel walked up next to them wordlessly. Lucas was gone. Probably with Brooke and she didn't blame him.

She felt Jake move his arm around her and relaxed against him.

Right now, there was nothing that could be said amongst all of them that could really explain what just happened.

There were no words for this.

* * *

Lucas paced the hospital hall, waiting for any source of news. Brooke had been in there for over an hour now and he was starting to worry. The moment they made it to the hospital, she'd been swept away from him, brought into the nearest room to be examined.

He was more frustrated than he could possibly imagine.

"Luke!"

He turned at the sound of Nathan's voice and saw his brother, Haley, and Rachel rushing towards him. Just behind them were Peyton and, to his surprise, Jake.

"Any news?" Nathan asked breathlessly.

"No." He shook his head and leaned heavily against the wall. Nathan moved next to him.

"How you holding up?"

"Not too well."

He sank to the floor, putting his head in his hands. Nathan sank down with him, patting his knee comfortingly.

From the corner of his eye he saw Peyton looking at him, her eyes clouded with tears. He could barely look at her right now, not after everything. She didn't deserve to find out this way. It wasn't right.

Yet, as she looked at him, he didn't see anger or animosity; he saw only worry and fear for her best friend. She knew, but she didn't seem to hate them at all. He looked over at Jake, who stood a few feet behind Peyton. He was glad that Jake could be there for Peyton at a time like this. She needed him now more than ever.

"Family of Brooke Davis?" a voice called out.

Lucas leapt to his feet, practically running over to the doctor who had just entered the hall.

"And who are you? Are you her husband?" the doctor asked.

"Lucas Scott. I'm her fiancé," he answered quickly. "Is she okay?"

The doctor frowned. "Brooke is doing fine, but it seems she's been under a lot of stress lately, which at this stage in pregnancy is not a good thing."

Lucas felt a pang in his heart. "So is the baby okay?"

"Miraculously, the baby survived. If she had continued bleeding, she would have lost it."

It was as if a huge weight had been lifted. Their baby was alive, they hadn't lost it. He felt himself relax suddenly. Everything was going to be okay…

"But I'm afraid Brooke is going to have to take it very easy during the remainder of her pregnancy. She'll be put on bed rest until she finishes the first trimester and we'll need to keep her overnight for observation. Mr. Scott, you're going to need to do everything you can to make her life as stress-free as possible."

"I will," Lucas promised. "Can I see her now?"

The doctor looked at him hesitantly. "Yes," he said, "but it's important that you know how serious this is. As of right now, Brooke's pregnancy is classified as high-risk. At this point, any small thing can trigger a miscarriage."

Lucas nodded slowly, trying to observe the doctor's words. This was a high-risk pregnancy…She could easily lose the baby if they weren't careful. It was a terrifying thought.

"I understand."

The doctor nodded. "Okay. She's right through those doors."

Lucas thanked him quickly before turning to look at the others who were standing a good distance away with worried looks on their faces.

"She's okay. Both of them."

There were collective sighs of relief and then Haley came forwards, pulling him into a hug. He clung to her, needing the support of his best friend.

"So what happened?" she asked as she pulled away.

He sighed. "I don't know exactly. It was stress related, though. Apparently the pregnancy's high-risk as of right now."

"Oh wow," Haley murmured.

Nathan came up to him and put a hand on his shoulder and an arm around Haley.

"How you doing, man?"

He shrugged, not really knowing what to say. He felt horrible, if he was being honest. Brooke shouldn't have to be dealing with this. And he had to see her—she was probably torn apart, blaming herself, and to top it all off she was probably worrying about Peyton.

"I need to go see her," he said. "You guys should probably go home. It's getting late."

Haley nodded. "Keep us updated, okay?"

"Yeah, I will."

Nathan patted his shoulder one more time and then walked away with Haley. Rachel looked at him hesitantly, as if she wasn't sure she wanted to leave, but then turned to follow them. Peyton just stood there, Jake by her side, looking lost.

"Lucas, I need to see her," she said quietly, tears brimming in her eyes.

He took a deep breath; he wasn't really expecting Peyton to say that. "Let me see her first and see if she's up to it. I'll come back and let you know if she is."

Peyton nodded and Jake put an arm around her. Lucas looked at Jake gratefully, knowing that he could be there for Peyton in a way that Lucas never could.

Lucas turned around and headed through the door and into Brooke's room. She was lying stiffly on the bed in a hospital gown, staring blankly at the ceiling. An IV was attached to her arm, but otherwise she was free of any other medical devices.

"Brooke."

Her head turned very slightly at the sound of his voice. Her eyes were empty of any emotion. She just looked drained.

He pulled a chair next to the bed and took her hand in his. He didn't even know what to say. There wasn't really anything he could think of that would make her feel any better.

"I was so worried," he said softly, brushing his lips against her forehead. "I thought I was going to lose you both."

She didn't say anything; she just continued staring at the ceiling. But, as he looked closely at her, he could see the tears brimming in her eyes.

"It's my fault…" Her voice was raspy and low, as if she was too tired to speak.

His eyes narrowed. "No, Brooke, this isn't your fault at all."

"Did the doctor tell you, Lucas?" she said, finally looking right at him. "This is a high-risk pregnancy and it's _my_ fault. I've been so stressed with work and keeping everything from Peyton. If I had just listened to you and told Peyton—."

"It wouldn't have made a difference," he interrupted. He couldn't let her think this was her fault because it wasn't, it wasn't at all. "Brooke, you can't blame yourself for this. I don't know why this is happening but it just is. It isn't because of you."

"I deserve this," she whispered. "I've been a horrible person, Luke…keeping everything from Peyton. She probably hates me."

His heart was breaking at her words. How could she ever think that? "Brooke, you're not a horrible person and you don't deserve this at all. _No_ one deserves this. And Peyton doesn't hate you, I can promise you that. She actually wants to talk to you."

"Probably to yell at me," she muttered.

Lucas sighed. "You should've seen her, Brooke. She was so scared for you. She loves you so much, you know that."

A tear slipped down Brooke's cheek and he wiped it away, cupping her cheek in his hand. "We shouldn't sit here and dwell on the bad things, Brooke. Our baby's alive." He put a hand on her stomach. "He's still in there, fighting to live and you've got to be strong for him. We _both_ have to be strong for him."

She nodded, a weak smile forming on her face. "Him?"

He looked at her in confusion. "What?"

"You called our baby a him."

"Oh." Lucas smiled. He hadn't even realized he'd said it. "Well, when you think about it, there hasn't been a girl born to the Scotts for a while now, with the exception of Lily."

She kinked an eyebrow. "Well maybe Lily broke the chain."

He grinned, rubbing her cheek with his thumb. "As long as he _or_ she makes it here nice and healthy I'll be happy."

She smiled, letting her face rest into the palm of his hand. "You're right, though. We've been given a second chance and I'm not going to waste it. I won't lose our baby."

"I know you won't," he said, stretching his neck to place a kiss on her lips. "I love you, Brooke."

She sighed contently, closing her eyes. "I love you too, Lucas."

And that was all he needed to hear.

* * *

"I thought you might need this."

Peyton opened her eyes and looked up at Jake, who was standing in front of her with a big cup of coffee. They were in the waiting room, still waiting to hear from Lucas. He'd been in there for almost an hour now, but Peyton knew he needed time.

Her mind was still reeling with the idea of Brooke and Lucas being together and having a baby. Did this all happen recently? Did he break up with her because he wanted Brooke? Were he and Brooke even completely together or had it been one night that resulted in a baby? She needed the details, but somehow she didn't think she would be getting them tonight, at least not from Brooke. But that was okay; she wasn't going to push Brooke to say anything she didn't want to. She was just glad that her best friend was okay.

She smiled at Jake. "Thanks," she said, grabbing the cup from him.

"No problem." He took the seat next to her.

"Jake," she said, turning to him. He smiled at her and she felt herself melt at the sight; she had missed that smile more than she even realized. "Jake," she said again, "thank you so much for being here. It means a lot to me."

Jake nodded. "I just thought you'd need some extra support," he said. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Peyton smiled and grabbed his hand. "Thanks to you, I am. To be honest, I think tonight was one of the most confusing nights of my life. I had no idea about Brooke until I saw her bleeding in the bathroom…"

"What's the story anyway?" he asked.

"I don't even know…I mean, Lucas and I were engaged about three and a half months ago and then he broke up with me and Brooke and I went to New York and…I came back two weeks ago and I just now figured out Brooke's pregnant with Lucas' kid. I don't even know how they did it."

Jake's mouth twisted into a grin. "Sounds confusing…So, you and Lucas were engaged? What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

She sighed. "Things just fell apart. We were living in our own little dream world and eventually we realized we don't work as a couple anymore. He kind of realized it first; it took me a little longer. I'm over him now. But that doesn't make it any tougher to know about him and Brooke."

"Yeah," Jake said, nodding, "I know what you mean."

She looked down at their hands, which were still intertwined, and chuckled lightly.

He looked at her curiously. "What?"

She shook her head. "It's just, the first time we see each in five years and we end up in a hospital before we even have a chance to talk."

He laughed. "Talk about drama. Tree Hill was always a crazy place."

"Yeah," she said, grinning lightly. "So how've you been doing, Jake?"

"I've been pretty good," he said, shrugging. "I've got a job teaching music at a high school in Savannah."

"What brought you to Tree Hill?"

"I had a job interview in Raleigh," he explained, "and since Tree Hill is only a couple hours away I figured I'd come back home for old time's sake. I actually stopped by Tric tonight hoping to find you. I'd heard about your record company and saw that the band playing was under your label so I figured I'd be able to find you."

"I'm glad you did," she whispered. He just smiled and looked down at their intertwined hands.

"How about Jenny?" Peyton asked. She hadn't seen the little girl ever since she had last been in Savannah, which was back in senior year, five years ago. It had been _way_ too long.

"She's great." He smiled proudly and pulled out his wallet. "She's almost eight now." He pulled out a picture and handed it to her. Peyton stared at it in amazement; Jenny had grown so much—she couldn't believe that the girl in the picture was the same one she used to hold in her arms.

"She's so big, Jake," she murmured.

"Yeah, I can't believe it either. They grow so fast."

Peyton shook her head in disbelief, not able to take her eyes away from the picture. Suddenly she felt guilty—guilty for not being in Jenny's life. And she felt sad too—sad that she hadn't been able to watch her grow like she had planned on doing back when she visited Jake in Savannah. Things would have been perfect if she hadn't left him to go back to Tree Hill… back to Lucas. Now that she thought about it, leaving Jake was probably one of the biggest mistakes of her life.

"Jake…" She wanted him to know how much she had missed him all these years and how much she regretted leaving him and, even though it didn't seem like it, she had never forgotten him and the amazing, unconditional love they had shared.

But then her cell phone went off and she cursed the bad timing. It was a text from Josh asking where she was.

Josh.

She had forgotten about him. He liked Peyton. A lot. And although she still wasn't sure why he liked her so much, she knew now that it wouldn't be right to try anything with him, not when Jake was here…Not when she was torn about her feeling for Jake and all that they had shared together.

She sent a quick text back, explaining that Brooke was at the hospital and she was there with her and not to worry—everything was okay.

"Sorry about that," she said, looking back at Jake. He just smiled. "So, anyway—,"

"Peyton."

She held back a groan. Why did everyone have to keep interrupting her? But then she realized it was Lucas who was saying her name and she immediately perked up.

"You can go see her," Lucas said, nodding towards the door.

She smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

"Peyton," Lucas said, grabbing her arm. "I just…I wanted you to know that I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to find out this way and I didn't mean to hurt you. But this thing with me and Brooke…it's real. And I love her, Peyton. More than anything. I need you to know that…She's my life now."

Peyton nodded slowly. She wasn't sure she was ready to hear all that he was saying, but she wasn't going to argue, not with Brooke lying in a hospital bed in the next room. She just needed her best friend to know that she loved her. The look shared between them when Brooke was being rolled out by the paramedics was still fresh in her mind and it hurt her to think that Brooke could be worrying over their friendship.

"I understand, Lucas," she said quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He smiled hesitantly and, without saying anything else, Peyton headed towards the door, ready to see her best friend.

* * *

Brooke's hands fiddled with the hem of the blanket as she waited anxiously for Peyton to enter her room. She wasn't sure what would conspire between the two of them or how Peyton was reacting to the news, but she knew that it wasn't going to be easy.

One thing she did know, though, was that she needed to tell Peyton everything. Every detail of importance—she couldn't leave anything out. Peyton deserved that much.

The door creaked open and a streak of light ran across the floor. The room was only dimly lit by a small lamp that sat by the side of her bed. Peyton poked her head through and Brooke smiled at her hesitantly.

"Hey, P. Sawyer."

A small smile flickered over Peyton's face as she came fully into the room and closed the door gently behind her.

"B. Davis, what have you gotten yourself into?"

Brooke immedietly loosened up at Peyton's playful tone, but was surprised at how kind Peyton was being. She was expecting her to be a little bit more upset.

"I don't know," Brooke replied, shrugging as she smiled back at Peyton, this time with much more certainty.

Peyton sat down next to her, looking at her sympathetically. She took Brooke's hand in her own and sighed.

"You scared the hell out of me, Brooke."

"I know and I'm so sorry. Not just for that, but for everything. Peyton, I—."

But Peyton put up a hand to interrupt. "Brooke, I know that you want to explain, but I need to say something first." She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I'll admit I was confused when I figured out you were pregnant and even more confused when I figured out it was Lucas'. And I'm _still_ confused… But I understand. It's hard and it still hurts, but I do. I don't know how long this thing between you and him has been going on, but I do know that it wasn't while Lucas and I were together; you would never do that to me and I believe that with full confidence. So, really, you did nothing wrong. He was fair game and I guess I should've known by now that you still love him…that you never really stopped. So, I guess what I'm trying to say that it's okay. I support you both because I love you both and I want you to be happy. And I can promise you that I will_ never_ come between you again. And if, for some strange, twisted reason I do, feel free to shoot me."

Brooke smiled. "I don't think it'll ever come to that again, but I'll keep that in mind. Really, though, you need an explanation. You _deserve_ an explanation."

Peyton nodded slowly and then Brooke told her everything. She told her that she and Lucas had gotten back together about a month after he and Peyton had broken up, when she had first gone back to Tree Hill. She told her that she originally had planned to end it, but couldn't because she was too in love with him and couldn't give him up again. She told her about the baby and that she had found out about a month ago. She told her that the second time she came back to Tree Hill wasn't because of business but because she needed to tell Lucas about the baby. She told her that besides herself and Lucas, Haley, Nathan, Jamie, and Rachel were the only others who knew. She told her that he proposed and she said yes…

By the time she was done, Peyton was staring at the floor, her eyes clouded with understanding and a little bit of hurt. Brooke knew that, no matter what Peyton said, it was still hard to hear.

"I…" Peyton began to speak but quickly dragged off. It was another minute before she spoke again. "It's hard," she finally said, looking at Brooke seriously. "I'm not gonna lie, it's _really_ hard to hear all this. And it hurts. It hurts a lot. But…I know that you didn't do this to hurt me. It wasn't intentional. I know that and I accept that. That's why it really hard for me to be angry with you. Especially right now when you're lying here after you almost lost your baby—a baby you've waited a long time to have. So, I can't be angry with you…Not when you're happy. Because that's all that matters, Brooke— that you're happy. And that means I'm happy too, no matter how hard it is."

There were tears streaming down both of their cheeks and Brooke suddenly realized just how much Peyton had grown these past few months. Peyton could easily sit here and hate her for taking Lucas so soon after he ended their engagement. She could easily hate her for carrying his child and for accepting his proposal. She could easily hate her for taking the man she had thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with. And she could hate her for keeping everything from her for so long. It would have been so easy.

But Peyton took the higher road and Brooke couldn't have been more grateful.

"You don't know how much that means to me," Brooke said, smiling through the tears. "I don't deserve this, Peyton, I really don't. But thank you."

"I love you, Brooke," Peyton said as she squeezed her hand. "And I just want you to be happy. That's what you've wanted for me these past few years. You've given up everything for me and I haven't given you anything in return. I think it's about time I did."

"You don't owe me anything…"

"But I do, Brooke, because without you I wouldn't be where I am today. I wouldn't have found the path that I've been looking for five years. I'd still be lost if it wasn't for you. Lucas and I…we thought we were soul mates, but that was only because people would always push us over to each other. You all said that it was me and him, that we were meant to be. And I've been lost in that idea for five years now. And finally I've found my way again and so have you and so has Lucas. It's…it's the way it supposed to be now. I really believe that."

"I love you, Peyton," Brooke said, trying to hold back even more tears from escaping her eyes.

"I love you too, Brooke."

And Peyton bent down and pulled Brooke into a sideways hug, resting her head on Brooke's shoulder. They stayed like that for a few minutes, clinging to each other and the amazing friendship they shared.

When they pulled away, Brooke looked at Peyton with sparkling eyes.

"So was that Jake I saw with you earlier?" she asked mischievously.

Peyton smiled and looked down at her feet. "Yeah. Crazy, huh?"

Brooke grinned. "I think it's great."

She had always loved Jake. He'd taken care of Peyton in away that no one else had and she was pretty sure that he and Peyton had shared something stronger and more real than Peyton and Lucas ever had. She really hoped something could work out between the two of them now that he was here. It wasn't a coincidence that he had shown up tonight; it was fate.

Peyton nodded slowly, her smile widening. "Yeah, I think so too." She squeezed Brooke's hand again. "He's actually here right now. He's been waiting with me. I guess he wanted to make sure I was going to be okay with everything."

"That so sweet," Brooke gushed. "It's been five years but it seems like he's still the same caring, genuine guy he was back in high school."

"Yeah, I really think he is…"

"So…is he seeing anyone?"

Peyton laughed at her bluntness. "I have no idea, Brooke. He could be married for all I know, although I didn't see a ring on his finger. Anyway, I'm just seeing him tonight for the first time in years and I think, even if he is single, we need to work on our friendship first. We'll take things slow if we even _take_ things at all."

"That's what you said last time," Brooke replied, kinking an eyebrow.

Peyton just shrugged. "Yeah, well this time I actually mean it."

Brooke chuckled. "Whatever. You just keep telling yourself that. I wonder how Josh is going to feel when he finds out he has some competition…I wonder if we're gonna have another love triangle with you in the middle."

Peyton's face twisted up distastefully. "Never again will I be involved in any other sort of love triangle or rectangle or shape of any kind."

"You right," Brooke said, winking at her. "Triangles are _so_ high school."

They laughed and Brooke was happy that things seemed to be normal for them. She knew that there would be tough times ahead of them for their friendship but somehow she knew everything would be okay.

Because if she and Peyton could make it through this, they could make it through anything.

**A/N:** I meant to get this up a lot sooner, but life got in the way. Anyway, I hope you're all happy with this chapter! I could never gonna let them lose the baby and I'm sorry that I worried you all so much! I know it might seem like Peyton's taking this a little bit too well, but I actually brought Jake back into the story to kind of help her through this so that she could deal with things maturely. He's kind of sign of hope for Peyton and it's because of him that she's dealing with it so well. At least that's how I saw it when I wrote it.

Please let me know how you all felt about this chapter and leave a review! I think I got the most reviews so far for this story last chapter so thank you so much for that!


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

"This is _so_ annoying!"

"Brooke, calm down. You can't be freaking out in this condition."

Brooke glared at him and she was pretty sure that her eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets at Lucas' words. Something told her he was going to be much more protective of her during the next seven months than she could handle.

"I will freak out if I want to, Lucas Scott," she spat out. "And let me tell you something, I can walk just fine on my own. You don't need to be helping me every single second of the day."

Lucas looked at her exasperatedly and she glared at him again. She was currently lying on the couch in her house, a down blanket wrapped around her like she was in some sort of cocoon and a pile of magazines were spread across her lap.

This is what it had been like for the past three days since she had returned from the hospital. It had been bad enough that she had had to stay an extra two days at the hospital, but when she had actually been released they had strictly ordered her on bed rest for the next month, until she reached the end of her first trimester.

And she hated it more than she hated anything in her entire life. It had been the most boring seventy-two hours of her life and she still had to go through exactly twenty-one more days of this. That thought alone was enough to make her want to throw something.

She couldn't do _anything_. She could work on her sketches, make a few phone calls (non work related at Lucas' insisting), watch TV, and read. That was all and for Brooke Davis that was hell. She knew that she needed to do this for the baby and she would do anything to protect it, but it still very frustrating. And she wasn't afraid to let people know that.

"Look," he said, his face softening, "just let me help you get you something from the kitchen. You shouldn't have to get it on your own."

Brooke's eye twitched. "Lucas, you barely let me go to the bathroom on my own. Can't I just take five steps into the kitchen and grab something from the fridge? It's really not a big deal."

Lucas sighed and threw his hands into the air in defeat. "Alright, I give up. Go ahead. But be quick."

Brooke clapped her hands together. "Thank God."

And then she twisted from her blanket and got up, refusing Lucas' hand to help her, and walked slowly over to the refrigerator, grabbed a slice of cold pizza and poured herself a drink before walking slowly back. It took all of a minute. It wasn't much, but it felt good to do on her own.

Taking her position back on the couch, she looked at Lucas triumphantly and started eating. Lucas sat on the other end of the couch and she perched her feet on his lap. She grinned at him as he gently rubbed her feet and he just shook his head and smiled.

Her mood swings had definitely been noticeable lately and she was pretty sure Lucas was only just starting to get accustomed to it. Ever since she had come home from the hospital her moods had shifted at the slightest things. She actually felt bad for Lucas, but at the same time she knew it was something guys had to deal with when they were dealing with pregnant women.

She looked around the living room, happy that she was in her own home. Lucas had insisted on taking her to his place after she left the hospital, but she didn't think it was a good idea. After all, all of her stuff was here and, after Lucas had told his mother about the pregnancy, Karen had announced that they would be coming home in a few months for good; she wanted to be here for the birth of her first grandchild. Lucas, who had bought his childhood home from his mother when she, Andy, and Lily had gone out to sail the world, was strongly considering selling it back to them, especially since his house wasn't as big as he would have liked for a growing family. Brooke had told him that was a good idea—that Karen should raise Lily in the home she raised him in—and then offered to let him move into her place when they moved back. And, although, nothing was official, it looked like Karen would be buying the place back and Lucas would move in with her.

But, three days after she left the hospital, Lucas was _already _practically living with her and, although he wasn't officially moved in, most of his stuff was here and he spent the night every night so far since she had come home.

Peyton hadn't been around much since Brooke came home and she couldn't blame her. Even though Peyton had told her everything was good between them, she was still having a tough time adjusting to the two of them together, especially now that Lucas was practically living with them. She's been mostly sleeping over at Josh and the guys' apartment the past couple of days, claiming that she still needed a little time to deal with all of the news.

In between days at the recording studio, Peyton had also been spending time with Jake, who had decided to stay in town an extra few days before he headed home to Savannah. Brooke didn't have much of an idea of what was going on between the two of them, but she _did_ know that it looked like Jake might be moving to Raleigh, which was only a couple hours from Tree Hill and a _lot_ closer than where he was living now. And that could only be good for him and Peyton.

Brooke sighed as she finished her pizza and then fell back onto the couch, pulling the blanket over her and staring blankly at the TV, where a boring show she'd never bothered watching before was on. It was getting later in the day and, after spending the whole day doing nothing, she was restless. Lucas' hands massaged her feet and she relaxed at the soothing feeling.

The ringing of Brooke's cell phone sounded throughout the room and Lucas sprung up before Brooke could bat an eyelash. Her phone was an arms width away on the coffee table but he didn't give her time to reach it before he got there first.

"It's Peyton," he said, handing her the phone.

Brooke smiled and grabbed it eagerly. "P. Sawyer, I was just thinking about you."

Peyton's quiet chuckle sounded over the line. "How've you been doing?"

"Oh, you know, I've been bored out of my mind. Nothing new. What've you been doing?"

"I've been doing some recording at the studio with the band."

"Peyton, you really need to come home and entertain me. I'm gonna go crazy of boredom if you don't."

Peyton laughed. "What, Lucas isn't entertaining enough for you?"

Brooke rolled her eyes. "To be honest, he's annoying the crap out of me." She laughed as Lucas playfully swatted her leg. "Really. Haley came over earlier with Jamie, but I need my best friend."

"Tell you what," Peyton said, "I'm meeting Jake for dinner, but I'll come over tonight afterwards and we can hang out."

Brooke kinked an eyebrow. "So, what's going on with Jake anyway?"

"Uh…" Peyton paused for a few seconds. "I don't really know, to be honest. We've been doing a lot of catching up mostly. He's leaving early tomorrow morning to go home, though."

"Did he end up getting that job?"

"I don't know yet. He promised to tell me when he found out, though, so I'll figure out eventually."

"Interesting…well, I guess you can fill me in on everything tonight."

"I will. See you tonight, B. Davis."

Brooke hung up and looked over at Lucas. "You're gonna need to go to your place tonight."

He looked at her in confusion. "What? Why?"

"Peyton's coming over tonight," she said simply.

"And she doesn't want me here?"

"No." Brooke looked at him pointedly and sat up, leaning her back against the arm of the couch. "_I_ don't want you here. Things will be kind of weird if you are and I really just want to spend some quality time with Peyton."

Lucas didn't look convinced. "Brooke—."

"_Lucas_, this is not optional. Besides, you need some rest. You've been going nonstop the last few days."

"Fine," Lucas said grudgingly, "if that's what you want. I know better than to argue with you by now."

"Good boy," Brooke said, patting his knee and smiling at him.

He just shook his head and chuckled, taking the hand that she had rested on his knee and stringing his fingers through hers.

"Brooke, I know that you think I'm being overprotective of you, but I just can't stand the thought of something happening to you or our baby. And you know I'll do anything to keep that from happening, even if it means I'll be very annoying in the process."

She smiled at him gratefully. "I know you just want the best for me, but you've got to know that _I_ understand that I have to be careful too. I know I'm stubborn and don't like to be helped but I still understand that I _have_ to be helped right now. It's just that occasionally I'd like to do a few things by myself."

"Well," he said, grinning, "then I'll just have to let you."

She leaned in closer to him and softly kissed his lips. "Thanks."

* * *

Peyton walked along the boardwalk with Jake, a comfortable bout of silence taking over them. They had just had dinner at one of Jake's favorite restaurants in Tree Hill and where now heading back to her car.

It felt so good to be next to him again, something that Peyton knew would have to end again soon. He was leaving tomorrow and, even though he'd only been in Tree Hill for a little less than a week, she felt like her life would be completely different without him in it.

"Let's sit," Jake said stopping suddenly and sitting down on at a table that overlooked the harbor. She looked at him curiously and sat across from him.

"I've got to confess something," he said, leaning forward on the table and looking at her guiltily.

"Yeah?" she said, cocking an eyebrow.

He smiled. "I haven't been staying in Tree Hill this past week just to hang out with you."

She crinkled her eyebrows in confusion, not sure how to take that statement. "Okay…"

"Not that I didn't _want_ to hang out with you," he quickly defended, "I just had some business stuff to deal with that I haven't told you about."

"Oh." She was still very confused. "So what business stuff exactly?"

"Well," he said, looking thoughtful as he stared down at his hands, "ever since I came back here everything has just felt…right. I don't really know how to explain it, but all I know was that the moment I stepped back in Tree Hill I just felt like it was where I was supposed to be. And then I ran into you and I knew what I was feeling was right. So I started looking for jobs around here."

She felt excitement growing in the pit of her stomach. "Jake, that's great!"

"Yeah," he said, frowning slightly, "except I couldn't find anything. Not anything that I could do that would provide for me and Jenny, anyway."

"Oh." Her excitement died down a little. "Well, what about Raleigh?"

"I got the job."

"That's great, Jake!" She smiled widely in encouragement, but he didn't look too happy.

"Yeah, I guess it is. But, Peyton, it's two hours away."

"And that's a lot closer to here than Savannah," she said, trying to make him see some sense. She was happy that he wanted to move back to Tree Hill, but she didn't want him to give up a great job in Raleigh. "It's a start, right? You can come here and visit all the time and I can come and visit all the time. And eventually you can maybe find something here and move back. Jake, I really don't think you should give this job up. From what you've been telling me, it's sounds like a great opportunity."

"I know, I just…" He trailed off and looked over at the water, and then, a second later, he turned to her seriously. "I know this might sound weird, but ever since we met up again I've realized that I need you in my life, whether it be as a friend or something else. It doesn't matter what we are— I just need you. I let you go once and I won't do it again. And Jenny… She wants to know you, Peyton."

"Jake…" She tried to interrupt but he went on.

"I want you in Jenny's life. I _really_ want you to be involved. You know, I tell her about you all the time. If she saw you standing right here she would know who you are. I show her pictures of us back when she was still so little all the time and I showed her every one of the few emails we sent each other over the years." He laughed a little to himself. "She loves to draw, Peyton. I'm not even sure how it happened, but somehow I know it came from you. And I just…I want her to know you."

He fell silent and she found herself overwhelmed by his words. She was both amazed and honored that Jake told Jenny about her, that Jenny wants to know her, and that she knows about her and Jake's past. It was amazing that after all these years, Jake still held onto her, even though she barely made the effort to contact him over the years.

And that makes her feel horrible, too—horrible because she hasn't seen Jenny since she was in high school and horrible because she's barely talked to Jake except in an occasional email in just as long. Now, sitting here in front of him in this moment, she knew that that would never happen again. She would never leave him again.

"I need both of you in my life too," Peyton said, reaching across the table and taking his hand. "And I don't think you can understand how sorry I am that I haven't been there for you and for Jenny. I thought about you all the time during these past few years, but I was always so lost in the idea of me and Lucas that I put you and her to the side of my mind and made Lucas my main priority. But, Jake, I can promise that won't happen again."

He nodded, a sweet smile on his face. "I know that, Peyton, and I trust you." He paused for a second. "I'm going to take the job in Raleigh, but it won't be permanent."

Peyton nodded. "Sounds like a great plan to me."

They stood up and Jake held out his hand. She smiled as she took it and they walked slowly towards their destination.

"Jake?" she asked as they stepped into her car.

"Yeah?"

She took a deep breath, not really sure how to word her question. "So…where does this leave _us_? I mean, are we friends or…more?"

He smiled, his eyes piercing right into hers. "I don't know, I think we've still got a lot to deal with, but…I'd say we're somewhere in between."

* * *

"Do I _really_ have to go?" he asked, pouting slightly. Her back was pressed against his chest as they lay on their sides on the couch. His arms were wrapped tightly around her, pulling her close to him to keep her from falling onto the floor.

Brooke just laughed and nodded her head. "Yup. Sorry, buddy."

He groaned, digging his face into her hair. She pulled herself out of his arms and sat on the edge of the couch. His hands moved to the back of her shirt and slipped underneath it. She turned around quickly and playfully swatted it away.

"Not now, Lucas. Peyton's gonna be here in five minutes. Now," she pulled at his hands, "unless you want me to lift you up, and you _know_ that I will try, you're gonna have to get up yourself and leave."

He dug his face into the pillow. "I don't want to leave."

She rolled her eyes. "Get used to it, Lucas, because you are."

He didn't budge and, as she heard the lock to the front door click, she knew that Lucas leaving before Peyton got here was now officially not going to happen. She glared down at him in annoyance, but she knew it was pointless since she was pretty sure he was about to fall asleep.

"Hey, guys," Peyton said cheerfully as she opened the door. Lucas raised his hand as if to wave, but didn't move from his position on the couch.

"He's being obnoxious," Brooke said, shaking her head as she stared at Lucas. "I told him he needs to leave, but he won't move. And now he's falling asleep on my couch."

Peyton chuckled and sat down in the chair across from Brooke. "Well, he's been doing a lot lately. I bet he's all tuckered out, poor guy."

She grinned at Peyton mischievously, an idea forming in her mind. "Hmm, I wonder if I got up…" She stood up. "And _ran_ over to the stairs..." She stomped on the ground while Peyton held back a laugh. His head flew up from the pillow and he reflexively grabbed her wrist, blinking up at her in confusion.

"Brooke, _don't_ do that to me."

"Looks, like you're up!" she said. "Now you've got to go like you promised. Go sleep in your own bed where you can be comfortable and snore all you want."

"I don't snore."

"Yeah you do," Brooke and Peyton both said and then they all laughed.

"Fine, but it's not that _bad_."

He stood up, stretching his arms, and then looked down at Brooke. "Alright, I'll go snore in my own house. But I'll be over tomorrow."

He moved his head down to hers and placed a kiss on her cheek. Brooke looked away from them both uncertainly; she still wasn't very comfortable with the idea of flaunting her and Lucas in front of Peyton. Peyton didn't seem to mind, though; she just smiled at Lucas as he headed towards the door.

"You ladies have fun."

The moment he left, Brooke turned to Peyton expectantly. "So, you and Jake? How'd it go?"

Peyton sighed happily and looked down at her hands, a small smile on her face. "It went good. He got the job in Raleigh."

Brooke smiled. "That's great. Any progression with the Jeyton romance?"

Peyton chuckled softly. "I guess so…We've kind of established that we're friends, but at the same time we're a little bit more. As he said, we're kind of in between. What I mean to say is that we're going to be moving slowly, but we're not ruling out a romantic relationship."

"Hmm…And what does Josh think about this? Does he know the story behind Jake?"

"Josh and I are just friends. Nothing more. He's an amazing guy, but he's not…"

"Jake?"

Peyton smiled weakly at her. "Yeah. As bad as it sounds, he's not. Jake and I have a lot of history and now that he's back I don't think I'll be able to let go."

Brooke nodded. She knew what Peyton meant. It was how she felt about Lucas. Even after years apart, the moment they were back in each other's arms they knew that there was no one else— no one could ever make them feel that way. Brooke knew that Peyton and Jake, friends or more, must feel the same way and she couldn't blame Peyton for not being able to see Josh as anything more than a friend when Jake was around.

"But," Peyton said, jumping up from her seat and sitting on the couch next to Brooke, "enough about my love life. You and I have some serious hanging out to do."

Brooke just laughed. "We sure do."

**A/N**: Hey everyone! I thought we needed a nice dose of Brucas fluff since we haven't been getting any on the show. On that note, I actually liked last night's episode (although seven episodes with NO Brucas interaction is just wrong—I'm just hoping there's a reason behind their non-existant friendship). Peyton, who I've hated the past two seasons, was actually likable and all of the LP scenes were pretty bearable and actually pretty funny. I _loved _that Peyton mentioned that the BL tattoos! But I have discovered that I hate Owen/Browen. I used to kind of like him (but not with Brooke) but now I just think he's a jerk. I don't even know exactly why, but last night's episode made me _really_ dislike him. I think it's because the writers are trying too hard make Brucas fans like Browen, but it's really pointless because Owen never can replace Brucas. It's too ridiculous to even think about. I'm just hoping he won't last too much longer, even if he and Brooke get together. Anyway…I'll stop rambling and move on to the next topic :D.

I just thought I'd let you all know that, if you haven't seen it already, I have a new story up. It's a one-shot, with a possibility of maybe one more chapter, but it's something I'm pretty proud of and really wanted to share with you all. Please be sure to check it out…and maybe leave a review if you can ;D.

Thanks for reading and please remember to review!


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Lucas was always a worrier.

It was just a part of his nature and something that he was never really able to get rid of as he got older. When he was a little kid he would worry about leaving his mother alone when he would spend the night at his friends' houses—he wanted to protect her from all the bad stuff in the world. When he was in high school he worried not only about his mother, but about his friends and all of the crazy relationships he had formed. Then when he graduated he still worried about all those things and more—money, his books and writing, coaching basketball, as well as a magnitude of other issues.

And now he had even more to worry about. He had Brooke and the baby she was carrying to brood over now and even though he was grateful for them both, lately worrying and stressing over them took over his life—even when it didn't need to be, as Brooke so often reminded him.

But this time was different, because this time his worrying was completely justifiable.

Because, for the first time since Brooke had told him she was pregnant, he realized that their child could be carrying the same disease he has.

And that scared him more than anything in the world.

The thought of giving his child HCM tortured him. He couldn't stand the thought of giving an innocent child a heart defect that could potentially lower the quality of his life or possibly even end it prematurely. It wasn't right and it wasn't fair.

But it was reality.

He hadn't talked to Brooke about it yet; he wanted to wait until she was officially off bed rest until he did. And now that her appointment that would mark the end of her first trimester was the next day, he knew that his time was running out.

Lucas was currently on his computer in Brooke's living room, looking through pages and pages of information about HCM in young children. It didn't look good. It turned out that it is better for HCM to be diagnosed a bit later in life, at around the time he was diagnosed or maybe a little earlier, because if diagnosed in infancy the disease is already at a more advanced stage. In other words, if they tested their baby for the disease soon after he or she was born and the baby tested positive, the prognosis for a healthy and full life was not good at all.

He couldn't even bear to think about that for longer than a few seconds.

"Hey, Luke."

Lucas took his eyes off of his computer screen and smiled lightly at Peyton, who had just made her way into the kitchen and was peaking into the fridge.

"Going out?" he asked, deciding that he needed a break from the depression that his computer was currently bringing him.

"Yeah," she said, taking out a can of soda and opening it, "the band's got a gig tonight."

"Good for them."

A second later, Rachel appeared at the bottom of the stairs, shooting Lucas an inquisitive stare as she walked into the kitchen.

"Still on the computer, Lucas?"

He just nodded, not really surprised that Rachel noticed he hadn't left it since she returned home from work a few hours ago. She was always observant like that. Actually he'd been on computer most of the day, but he wasn't going to admit it to anyone.

"Brooke said you've been on it all day," Rachel said airily. "You must have written a whole book by now."

Lucas' frowned slightly. "Yeah…not as much as you'd think."

"You writers are way too slow," Rachel said. "You spend all day working and come up with a page or two. It's ridiculous."

Peyton laughed and then smiled at him cheekily. "I guess it's a good thing Lucas barely has any fans then, right? That way, instead of having millions of fans growing more and more impatient by the day for his latest masterpiece, he's only got a couple hundred or so. So, really, you're only disappointing a very small amount of people."

Lucas sent her a playful glare. "Hey, I resent that! Besides, people loved my first book."

"And the second was a major letdown," Rachel said smugly and both she and Peyton shared a laugh.

"Okay, okay, enough criticizing my career. Shouldn't you two be going?"

Peyton looked over at the clock. "Yeah, actually we should. Unless you just want to meet me there, Rachel?"

Before Rachel could respond, Lucas cut in. "No, _please_ take her with you!"

"Hey!" Rachel objected, throwing the nearest object, which just happened to be an apple, at him. He ducked just in time.

Lucas chuckled, throwing his hands up in defense. "What? You were being mean to me, so I can be mean to you."

Rachel just rolled her eyes and sent him a smirk as she followed Peyton out the door. "So childish, Lucas…"

When they were gone, he focused back on the computer. But after a few minutes of staring aimlessly at the computer screen he realized that he didn't really want to read any more about a bunch of stuff he already knew.

He needed to ask the doctor tomorrow about what they should do about this, but before he could do that he needed to talk to Brooke. She needed to know why he had been so preoccupied lately.

So he set his computer on the coffee table and trudged slowly up the stairs, trying to figure out exactly what to say. He wasn't entirely sure if she had realized the possibility of their child having HCM and if she had she definitely hadn't mentioned it.

He poked his head into her bedroom and found her lying in her bed, her back perched against the headboard and reading a magazine.

"Hey."

She looked up from reading and smiled. "Hey you." She patted the bed. "Sit."

He did as he was told, swinging his legs onto the bed and leaning against the headboard. She took his hand, linking her fingers through his.

"You've barely been up here today," she mentioned after a few moments of silence. He didn't respond. "Have you been getting any writing done?" she continued.

He sighed and shook his head. "Not really."

She looked at him questioningly and he could tell that she knew something was up. She _always_ knew when something was bothering him.

"Luke, is everything okay?"

He took a deep breath and turned to look straight at her. "I've been putting this off for a couple of weeks because I didn't want to worry you, but I think it's time we discuss it."

Her eyebrows creased in confusion. "Okay…?"

He tried to put it as delicately as possible, but in the end he knew that he just had to come straight out with it. "Have you thought about the possibility of the baby having HCM?"

Her face was blank, void of any emotion. He gave her time to digest his words and then, after about a minute of silence on both their parts, her face adjusted into a small frown and she sighed.

"I've always known there was a chance," she said calmly. Her eyes met his. "But I just thought it was a risk we would have to take. I mean, we both want kids, right? And there's no guarantee this baby will have it either. So, it's something we just have to risk."

He was a little bit surprised at her answer; it sounded like she had put more thought into this issue than he did. And not only that, she appeared to have come to terms with it. He didn't even know what to say.

Then her expression softened and she squeezed his hand. "Luke, you're blaming yourself for this, aren't you?"

She knew him too well because that was exactly what he was doing.

"You know it's not your fault, don't you?" she asked, her face serious as she looked him straight in the eye. "None of this is, so please don't worry yourself over it because the fact is we most likely won't know for a while if this baby has it or not and it's not worth spending all that time beating yourself up over. Look at yourself, Lucas—you've lived a great life so far with a few setbacks because of this disease, but you're happy. And, even if this baby has it, he or she'll grow up happy too."

Her words comforted him more than she could know, but it was still hard to face the reality of the whole thing. But he knew he had to try because he knew she was right—it wasn't his fault. And he could just blame Dan in the end if his child _did_ end up having it, althought it really _wasn't_ Dan's fault. It was nobody's fault actually. It was just the way life went.

That thought didn't really make him feel that much better.

He took a deep breath, preparing to make one last point. "It's just…you deserve more than me, Brooke. You gave up everything for me and now, when you're finally getting the chance to be a mother, there's a chance our kid could have a heart defect. Because of me. And that's just not fair to you or our baby."

"Lucas," she said, her voice rising as she moved around and made sure he was looking right at her, "how could you ever think that? I want _you_, Lucas, _only_ you. There's no one else that I've ever considered being the father of my children. And I've known the risks all these years. Call me selfish, but I'd rather risk this with you than have a baby with anyone else, no matter how healthy they may be. It doesn't matter to me and it never will. And I hope you can understand that, Lucas, because that will never change. So, don't ever think that I don't deserve you, because it's not true."

It amazed him how she could love him so much despite all he'd put her through. Her devotion to him was stronger than anyone he'd ever known, going way further than Peyton ever could. She'd waited patiently for over five years for him and this was all he could give her. And she still loved him despite that.

He looked deep into her eyes and rested his hand on her cheek. "You're amazing, you know that?"

She grinned, scooting closer to him. "Yeah, I do."

He laughed and looked down at their intertwined hands, the engagement ring on her left ring finger grabbing his attention. Her other hand moved to his chin, tipping it up so he was looking at her.

"Promise me you won't beat yourself up about this anymore, okay?" Her voice was gentle, but he could hear the pleading behind it and he felt bad that _he_ was the one worrying her.

"I promise," he said, smiling truthfully. And he would do his best not to. "As long as _you_ don't worry about it," he added.

She grinned. "Don't worry, I won't."

He moved his face a few inches forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She smiled against him and he pulled them down onto the bed, wrapping his arms around her. Her back lay against his chest and his hands rested on her stomach.

"Excited for tomorrow?" he asked.

She nodded enthusiastically. "You have no idea. I can't wait to be able to go out and go shopping! I can't even believe I've gone a month without it."

Actually Brooke _had _gone shopping about a week ago against his wishes, but it had been a short trip and she hadn't managed to achieve much.

He chuckled, but went along with her. "Me either. Just promise me you'll still be careful, okay?"

"You know I will."

He let himself relax and soon his eyes were drooping dangerously low. He felt Brooke move around slightly and situate the big comforter around them both and soon he was sleeping, his mind mercifully at ease for the first time that day.

* * *

Brooke was sitting on a stool at the kitchen counter, looking over her long list of must needed items for her shopping trip later today, when Rachel burst into the room. It was nearing one o'clock and she and Lucas would be going to her appointment in about a half hour. Brooke had been up since early in the morning, but Rachel appeared to have just gotten up.

"Brooke," Rachel exclaimed, "just the girl I needed to see!"

She smiled at Rachel's cheerfulness. "What's up?"

"Well," Rachel said, pouring herself some coffee, "I've got some major news for you, actually."

"Really?" Brooke looked up from her list, intrigued. "And what would that be?"

"I'm not sure how you're going to react to this, but Peyton and I have been doing some house hunting. Well actually it's more like apartment hunting, but that's besides the point."

Brooke stared at her in confusion. "House hunting? Why would you do that when you've got a house right here?"

Rachel gave her a look that told her she was crazy to think this was a strange idea. "Brooke, you and Lucas are getting married and six months from now you're going to have a baby. Don't you think it's going to be a _little_ bit too crowded?"

Rachel _was_ right there, but she wasn't so sure she wanted her two friends leaving her so soon. Yes, sometimes it was crowded, but she loved living with them.

"Rachel, that's six months away. You don't need to move out yet."

"Yeah, we do. Six months is going to come a lot faster than you think. Anyway, we found an apartment yesterday and it's just a few minutes away from here. We're moving in two weeks."

"Two weeks? But that's so soon!"

Rachel put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Brooke, this is a good thing. Lucas can finally officially move in and you two can start your life as a normal couple."

Brooke sighed, feeling guilty. "I just feel like I'm kicking you both out."

"You're not," Rachel said, grinning slightly. "_We're_ kicking ourselves out. And hey, now that you've got me working for you I feel like it's time for me to _really_ live on my own, you know? You've taken great care of me and believe me you still can even when we're not living together, but now I've got to do some things by myself."

"I know," Brooke relented. "I'm just gonna miss you both."

"We'll be just around the corner," Rachel reminded her.

Brooke pulled her into a hug, feeling tears well up into her eyes. She cursed her stupid emotions for getting the best of her once again—these mood swings were killing her.

"Are you _seriously_ crying again?" Rachel laughed as she pulled away.

Brooke chuckled, wiping away the tears, and shrugged. "Sorry."

"Brooke, what's wrong?"

Lucas' concerned voice rang out as he made his way from the stairs and into the kitchen. He put a protective arm around her and she gave a tearful laugh. Lucas looked at her in alarm.

"She's just getting overly emotional again," Rachel said, shaking her head with a big smile on her face.

"Peyton and Rachel are moving out," Brooke explained, her tears finally stopping.

"Really?" Lucas said, his face twisting into confusion. "When did this happen?"

"Officially, yesterday, but we've been talking about it for the last couple of weeks."

"Okay…" He looked at Brooke. "So is this a good thing or a bad thing? Because I can't really tell by the way you're crying."

Brooke laughed again. "It's a _sad_ thing, but I guess it's a good thing too."

"It is," Rachel confirmed.

"Well," Lucas said, looking at them both skeptically, "as soon as you two are done, we should get a move on. We've got to be there in fifteen minutes."

"Yeah, I'm ready," Brooke said, pulling out her compact and wincing at the dried tears stains and running mascara that now covered her face, "but I guess I'll have to freshen up in the car."

He smiled, kissing her nose. "You look beautiful."

Brooke rolled her eyes and waved a goodbye at Rachel before following him out to the car. They drove there in silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts. She knew he was thinking about the baby having HCM and she wished he wouldn't. But, until the baby was born and tested and the results came back negative, she knew he wouldn't be able to fully rest.

And, even though she told Lucas she wasn't going to worry, she knew that she would be able to completely rest either.

* * *

Lucas fiddled with his fingers impatiently as they waited for the doctor to come in. Brooke was sitting on the examining table looking at a pamphlet she had picked up in the waiting room and, as he watched her read it with a small, peaceful smile, he wondered how she could be so calm when he was almost a nervous wreck.

He was worried about more than just the HCM issue now; he was worried that the baby was still in danger and that Brooke would have to continue bed rest and he was also worried about Brooke herself and how she would react if that happened. He was pretty sure she would be absolutely miserable.

"Lucas," Brooke said, looking at him exasperatingly, "seriously, enough with the brooding. You're driving me nuts."

He let out a deep breath and smiled. "Who said I'm brooding?"

"It's no secret when Lucas Scott broods. You get all squinty-eyed and you look all lost in thought and sort of depressed. Anyone who's known you for two minutes could tell."

He just laughed. "Fine, I'll try to stop. Once this appointments over I should feel a lot better, anyway."

She didn't have time to respond to that because the doctor had finally made his entrance. This was Lucas' second time going with Brooke to her appointments—his first had been two weeks ago for a check up to make sure the baby was doing okay and that the bed rest was working. So the whole thing was still pretty new to him. The doctor asked Brooke questions, some of which he really couldn't understand but that she seemed to know about, and then as Lucas was finding himself growing bored, Brooke mentioned his HCM.

The doctor crinkled his eyebrows. "That's good to know," he said, turning to Lucas, "and it's definitely something you should look into once the baby's born. HCM does occur later in life most of the time and fortunately most infant cases rare rare. I'm willing to bet that you're baby will be just fine for a good long while. The teenage years are when you'll want to _really_ look into it."

"So even if the baby tests negative once he's born, he could still have the disease later in life?" Lucas asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Unfortunately yes and, because the disease is genetic, the baby does have a much higher risk of developing it later in life. In fact, most of the time, there's a 50/50 chance that a child will inherit the defect from his or her parent. But to be fair, you never really know when it comes to genetics. It's possible you could have two or three kids and none of them end of inheriting it."

This made Lucas feel a little bit better, although the thought of the risk of giving even _more_ kids this disease was a little more than he could take at the moment.

"Well, if you don't have anymore questions we can move onto the ultrasound."

Truthfully, Lucas had a lot more questions, but he knew that pretty much anything the doctor told him he already knew and, since Brooke looked like she really wanted to move onto a different subject, he nodded.

"Sounds good," Brooke said, smiling widely.

She lifted her shirt revealing her pale stomach. There was a small, bare visible bump that had formed only a few days ago according to Brooke, but it was definitely there and when she had shown it to him he had smiled goofily, overcome with the amazement that their child was in there, growing inside of her.

Suddenly a loud thumping noise filled the room and he grinned in excitement. Last time he'd barely been able to contain his enthusiasm at the sounds of his child's heart beat and this time he was having the same trouble. He watched with a huge smile on his as the doctor moved the instrument around Brooke's stomach and eventually rested below her navel. He looked quickly over at Brooke, who's eyes were latched onto the screen next to her, before looking at the screen himself.

The doctor pointed to a small, barely noticeable white patch in the middle of screen.

"There's your baby. Obviously he or she is still pretty small, but the next time you come it should be much more noticeable."

Brooke's mouth was twisted into an incredibly wide smile and Lucas was sure his smile rivaled her own. He squeezed her hand gently but neither of them looked away. Even though there was still so little to see, both the sight of his child in front of him and the sound of it's heart was beyond amazing.

"How does everything look?" Lucas finally cracked out.

The doctor smiled. "Everything looks great. Brooke, it looks like you've made a full recovery."

Brooke's smile widened even more as she finally tore her eyes away from the screen. "So I'm officially off bed rest?"

"Well," the doctor said, pressing a few buttons on the ultrasound machine, "I suppose you can proceed on with your normal daily routines, but you've still got to be relatively careful. Even though you and the baby seem to be doing well anything can change within a very short amount of time. But be cautious and you should be okay."

They both nodded, distracted as the doctor pulled a picture from the machine and handed it to Brooke.

"Here's a picture of the sonogram. As I said, everything looks good. If you have any problems, please don't hesitate to call. Otherwise, I'll see you both next time."

"That went well," Brooke said cheerfully as the doctor closed the door behind them.

"Yeah," he said, grinning, "it did."

He went into this appointment today in a dark mood but now he felt better than ever. It was incredible how fast his mood had changed and he was grateful that it did; he didn't think he could've stood thinking about all that stuff much longer.

Lucas took Brooke's hand as they walked out of the doctor's office and she sent a bright smile his way. He felt like he was on top of the world right now, with her next to him. It felt right. And, as he examined the picture of the ultrasound that he currently held in his hand, he knew that it was.

"Ready to go shopping?"

Her eyes sparkled with excitement and she grinned mischievously. "You have _no _idea."

He grimaced; he was sure in for a _long_ afternoon.

**A/N:** Sorry for the bit of a wait. Truth is, this chapter's been done since last week but I've barely had time to edit it and post it up here. I've been crazy busy lately, you can't even imagine. Anyway, I did a little research about HCM in kids and I _think_ I got all the info right, but if I'm wrong don't hesitate to let me know because I don't want the wrong facts in this story!

So, with that said, thanks so much for reading and please remember to review!!


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

This was kind of a weird day for Brooke.

Two of her best friends were moving out—which did not make her very happy—and her fiancé was moving in—which of course made her ecstatic. It was a very bittersweet day, now that she had the chance to think about, but it was necessary.

As Rachel and Peyton loaded their things into the back of Brooke's big SUV, Lucas was loading his stuff out and it caused a bit of chaos on everyone's part. Add that to the fact that Lucas ordered her to specifically _not_ help with the packing and unpacking except with extremely light objects, she wasn't a help at all.

Luckily Jake was in town and Josh had stopped by earlier to help out. This had been kind of awkward. Josh understood that Peyton and Jake had a history, but Brooke was pretty sure he had had his heart set on getting Peyton. But Rachel did a god job of distracting him as they got everything settled and Josh had left a while ago for band practice.

Since Rachel and Peyton didn't really have any of their own furniture at Brooke's house, they were mostly dealing with clothes and other small items, but Lucas insisted on moving his favorite black leather sofa with him. She wasn't really sure how expected this to fit into the living room, but Lucas didn't seem to mind.

She watched in amusement as he, Nathan, and Jake maneuvered around the living room trying to find the perfect spot. Jamie stood with her, calling out orders to the guys, which they seemed to find rather annoying, although they hid it well.

"Dude," Nathan said exasperatingly after nearly five minutes of moving around things that got them virtually no where, "this isn't gonna work."

Lucas stood there, a deep look of concentration on his face, and she held back a smile. He was so cute when he was determined. But as he eyed her own couch with a mischievous look on his face she immediately stepped through the messy and crowded room and over to him.

"We're _not_ getting rid of my couch, Lucas, and don't tell me that you aren't considering that because I know you are."

"No," Lucas defended, a cocky smile on his face, "I was only thinking of getting rid of your armchair."

She glared at him. "No, that chair is there for a reason. Seriously, you're ugly couch is already going to ruin the décor in here, do _not_ take away the decent looking furniture."

Behind her, Jake and Nathan were laughing but she ignored them. Lucas looked at her in defeat.

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"Get rid of it. It's ugly anyway."

"This couch was expensive and it's really comfortable."

She looked at him pointedly. "_These_," she pointed to the furniture, "were ten times more expensive _and_ they look good. I win."

"Brooke, they came with the house."

"Which was extremely expensive. Once again, I win. Now, find some way to arrange these couches while Haley and I go help Peyton and Rachel unpack at their apartment." She turned to her godson. "Make sure they don't ruin anything, okay buddy?"

He saluted. "You got it."

With that, she headed outside where Haley was waiting for her in her car.

"I swear," Brooke said as she pulled out of the driveway and headed towards Peyton and Rachel's new place, "if those guys make a mess of my house I _will_ kill them."

Haley laughed. "Oh, they will, Brooke. That's what guys do. But you'll get used to it eventually."

This didn't make her feel any better.

* * *

Lucas looked proudly around the room. Finally everything was situated perfectly.

"Looks good," Jake said, coming up behind him.

He grinned. "Yup and the best part is Brooke should actually like it."

"I don't know man," Nathan said, sitting down on Lucas' couch and pulling Jamie along with him, "Brooke's been kind of unpredictably lately. She'll probably hate it."

Lucas sighed and sat down next to him. "With my luck, she probably will."

"It's not that bad," Jake said, looking around. "I mean you're kind of squared in, but at least you don't have a lack of seating."

"I think it's cool!" Jamie said excitedly. "It's like a cage."

"Yeah," Nathan laughed, "it's kind of like a blockade. Brooke's gonna _love_ that."

Lucas shoved him tiredly and sighed. "Yeah, she'll probably hate it but I'm not moving anything else tonight."

"Now that I've really spent some time in this house I've realized how small it is," Nathan said. "Have you two thought of getting a bigger place?"

He shook his head, relaxing against the couch. "I think it's going to be awhile before that happens. Besides, it's big enough for three and Brooke is kind of attached to this place." Lucas looked over at Jake and smiled. "Hey, Jake, thanks for everything today. I know you're moving to Raleigh in a couple of weeks and you can count on me to help out."

"No problem, Luke. And thanks." He paused, sending a wide grin their way. "I've got a ton more things to move in, but somehow I have a feeling it's going to easier than what we went through today."

Nathan laughed. "I think you're right. Leave it to Lucas to make everything more complicated then it needs to be."

Lucas just glared playfully at them before letting his head fall against the couch and closing his eyes. Today had been a good day, a bit stressful, but good. And it was made even better by having all his friends here with him. He had a feeling that this was the way it would start to feel for the rest of life and he definitely liked that idea.

Because with all of these people by his side, he was content.

* * *

Brooke looked around the apartment distastefully. Now that everything was moved in and she had a good look at the place, she didn't like what she saw. It was a nice apartment just a few blocks down from the beach and it had a gorgeous view, but the walls were all painted a monotonous white and the living room was the size of her kitchen at home, which wasn't big at all. It reminded her a little bit of Haley and Nathan's old apartment back in high school except smaller. It had two bedrooms, but otherwise it was a bit of a rip off as far as she was concerned.

But Peyton and Rachel were pretty happy with it and she decided that was all that mattered.

"Well," Haley said, wiping the sweat off her brow, "I think everything is in. Are we done?"

Rachel looked around the room, a content smile on her face, and nodded. "Yup, I think we are."

Brooke looked at Peyton, who had just collapsed on the couch. "I know that you're not supposed to paint the walls when you're renting a place, but this place is in serious need of a P. Sawyer paint job."

Peyton lazily nodded. "I agree."

"Me too," Haley said, moving Peyton's legs and sitting on the couch. Rachel poked Peyton and forced her to sit up so that she too could sit on the couch.

"Okay," Peyton said, glaring at them, "I'm not sure how much I like the idea of having only one couch."

"You can have Lucas' ugly one," Brooke said, rolling her eyes as she took a seat on the floor. Peyton scurried off and sat down next to her, putting her head in Brooke's lap.

"That couch isn't _that_ bad," Haley said rationally.

Brooke sighed and played with Peyton's hair. "I know, but it really doesn't match my stuff."

Peyton laughed. "Of course you would think that. To be honest, I don't think it looks bad. It might crowd things but it should be okay."

"Okay enough about this couch situation," Rachel interrupted, rolling her eyes. "I mean, seriously, if this couch drama is the only interesting things in your life right now than you're more boring then I thought."

"Yeah, because our lives have been _so_ boring lately," Peyton said, cocking an eyebrow and Rachel threw a pillow at her.

"No fighting," Haley said, laughing. Then she looked at them all with a distant smile on her face. "You know what this reminds me of?"

"What?" Brooke asked curiously.

"Our slumber party, junior year."

Brooke smiled giddily at the memory. Life had been a bit crazy back then and it still was, but it had been one of those nights that she'll remember the rest of her life. She'd grown even closer to Peyton then she already had been and she and Haley had bonded more too. Not to mention all of the crazy stuff that had happened.

Peyton sat up. "Aw, the infamous slumber party! That was an interesting night."

Haley shook her head, smiling as she remembered the events that had taken place. "Our wonderful little fight and bonding session…that was great."

Brooke smiled. "Our pillow fight and the delicious brownies that I ate most of…The whole Haley slash Chris Keller incident and learning about Peyton's little tryst with drugs…"

Peyton grinned. "_Felix_."

She playfully hit Peyton's shoulder, but cringed at the memory. "Oh, God, that boy was such an idiot."

Haley winced. "Yeah, walking in on him in my shower was definitely not something I like to remember."

"Try walking in on him and Brooke having sex!"

"In _my _bed!"

They broke into laughter and Rachel spoke up. "Good going, Brooke!"

"Hey, it wasn't my fault my mom sold my bed."

"Oh, shut up, Brooke," Peyton said, holding back a laugh, "that's a horrible excuse and you know it."

Haley shook her head quickly, as if trying to rid her brain of the memory. "You'd think after over five years I could look back it this and laugh, but no, the thought of you and Felix having sex in my own bed still makes me want to puke."

"Yeah," Brooke said, smiling ear to ear, "then you might not want to hear about how many times Lucas and I did it on your bed back in senior year."

Haley's eyes widened and it almost looked like she was about to pass out. "Brooke, are you _serious_?"

She just smiled. "Yup."

Of course she was partially lying, but she was getting a kick out of teasing Haley right now. She and Lucas had only did it _once_ in Haley's bed and that was because she had been washing her sheets from the night before. But she wasn't going to let Haley know that.

"Oh, God," Haley said, and Brooke was pretty sure her eye was visibly twitching. "Please get these images out of my head, please…"

Peyton was doubled over in laughter and Rachel, who looked a bit confused, was shaking her head in amusement. Brooke just shrugged and leaned casually against the wall, placing her hands on her stomach.

Once the laughter had finally subsided and Haley had caught her cool, Peyton's head fell back into Brooke's lap and she sighed.

"Good times."

"Yeah," they all agreed.

They all lapsed into a comfortable silence and Brooke was pretty sure everyone was reminiscing about high school. She definitely was. Sometimes she missed it—the carefree nights when the only thing she had to worry about was getting the perfect outfit for the party after the basketball game. Life really hadn't been much simpler, though. Actually her life during the last two years of high school was probably more complicated than the past five years combined. But now she could look back at everything – the whole love triangle and her mistakes—and actually be happy about the way things turned out.

Because now everything was finally the way it was supposed to be.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts and she twisted her head around to see Jake poking his head inside. Peyton sat up, a big smile on her face, and Brooke was glad to see how happy seeing Jake made her.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said, grinning as he stepped inside. Peyton stood up to meet him.

"Did they screw up my house?" Brooke asked, kinking an eyebrow.

He laughed. "_I_ personally don't think so, but you'll just have to see."

She wasn't really sure she wanted to leave just now. As she rested against the wall, she realized just how tired she was. Today had been stressful and now she just wanted to lie here and sleep. The good thing about this apartment, she noted, was that its carpet was extremely comfortable.

"Anyway," Jake said, looking at Peyton, "is it still okay for me to crash here?"

"Of course," Peyton replied. "We still have to set up the beds, but you can take the mattress in my room."

He smiled gratefully and headed down the hall towards Peyton's new room. Peyton remained standing where she was, watching his retreating form.

"You two are totally gonna do it tonight," Rachel said and this got Peyton's attention.

"No, we definitely won't. You wanna know why? Because we're not together and unlike you I'm not a slut."

"Hey!" Rachel said, pretending to be offended. "Only Brooke's allowed to call me a slut."

Brooke grinned. "No, only _you_ are allowed to call _me_ a slut. Anyone can call you a slut because it's true."

Rachel glared at her for a second before shrugging. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Well," Haley said, standing up and stretching, "as much as I'm enjoying this love fest, I'm gonna get going. And since Brooke drove me here, she's got to go too. I'm sure you're dying to see the new setup in your living room."

Brooke groaned, but took Haley's hand as she helped pull her up from the floor. "Yeah, I can't wait." She straightened herself out and looked at Rachel and then at Peyton. "Are you two going to be alright without me?" she asked, a bit jokingly but at the same time serious.

"We'll be fine, _mom_," Rachel replied, looking at her pointedly.

"Don't worry, Brooke," Peyton said, pulling her into a short hug, "we'll be okay on our own."

Brooke sighed; it was going to be so weird to live without them, especially Peyton, who she'd been living with the past year. And it was going to be even weirder living with Lucas. She'd never really lived with a guy before and she was pretty sure this whole thing was going to be a learning experience.

"I'll miss you," she said, waving sadly as she and Haley headed to the door.

"I'll miss you too, B. Davis."

"Yeah, slut, it'll be a little weird without you. Although we're like two minutes away so I _really_ think it's gonna be okay."

Brooke just rolled her eyes at Rachel's comment and then followed Haley outside. Linking her arms through Haley's, she turned to look at her.

"Long day."

Haley just grinned. "Long, but fun."

* * *

He woke to the light being flipped on and immediately shielded his eyes.

"Turn it off," Lucas mumbled, digging his face into his pillow.

"My living room looks like some sort of fort. How am I supposed to move around in there?"

He groaned into the pillow and slowly looked up at his fiancée, who was currently standing at the door, her hands on her hips. He winced at the force of the light.

"I'll fix it tomorrow," he said simply.

To his surprise she just smiled, turned off the light, and joined him on the bed. "It's okay, it's not _that_ bad. Sorry for waking you, though, I didn't think you would be asleep yet."

"It's okay," he murmured, his head falling back onto the pillow. She ran her fingers through his hair and he closed his eyes. "Good night?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," she said and her other hand ran down his bare arm, "we did a lot of reminiscing."

"Mmm…"

She didn't say anything else; instead she just lay down next to him, his body spooning hers. His arms snaked around her and she relaxed against him. Nothing felt more perfect to him.

A few minutes later he heard her soft, slow breathes and knew she was asleep. They'd had a long day and tomorrow she had to get up early and do inventory at her store so he knew she was probably in for an even longer one tomorrow. She needed rest and he was glad that she was finally getting some.

He slowly began to drift off and, with Brooke in his arms, the last thing he thought of as sleep overcame him was that this was how it was always supposed to be.

* * *

Brooke rubbed the exhaustion from her eyes, trying to concentrate on making sure everything was in its proper place. She was the last one here now and after spending the whole day doing what she hated most—inventory—she was ready to go home.

Lucas had been calling her constantly telling her that she was overworking and that she needed to be careful, but she kept telling him that she really _wasn't_, unless you call staring at a piece of paper the whole day overworking. He wasn't pleased, though, and she supposed he had a right; she'd been here since eight in the morning and now it was almost six. She'd assured him that she had taken plenty of breaks, but he still wasn't convinced. But now she was finally done and she felt very pleased with all the work accomplished today.

As she placed the final checkmarks on her clipboard, she heard the clinking of the door.

"Sorry, we're closed," she said, not bothering to look up.

"Hello, Brooke."

Brooke flinched at the voice, her eyes darting to the figure standing a few feet in front of her. Victoria was the last person she wanted to see right now. She was really getting tired of the games her mother was playing and after a long day like this one, she was in no hurry to deal with her mother's conniving ways.

"What do you want this time?" she asked tiredly, putting the clipboard onto the desk and walking to the backroom. Her mother's clicking heels told her she had followed her.

"What, I can't just simply want to visit my daughter?"

She rolled her eyes. "Cut the crap, Victoria," she said, turning to look at her mother, who was looking at her with a smug smile on her face.

"Really, Brooke, that's no way to speak to your mother."

"Seriously, _mother_, what do you want?"

Victoria took a seat on a stool, her expression turning more businesslike. "I was in the area and I thought I'd come see how this place was working out."

"It's fine," Brooke said, crossing her arms as she stared at her mother indifferently.

"I suppose it is."

There was something about the way her mother was staring at her that made her uneasy. And, as Victoria's eyes narrowed, Brooke realized that her mother still didn't know about her pregnancy, let alone Lucas. She knew that Victoria would have to learn sooner or later, but she really wasn't looking forward to telling her now. Although the thought of seeing how Victoria would react at the idea of being a grandmother was sort of amusing…

"You look different," Victoria stated.

"Um, thanks?" She decided she wasn't going to tell Victoria anything tonight unless she explicitly mentioned it, but at the rate her mother was going, she was pretty sure she'd find out anyway.

Victoria's eyes narrowed even more. "Is that an _engagement_ ring?" she asked, her voice now incredulous.

Brooke held back a groan, instead choosing to smile confidently at her mother. If she was going to find out about everything, Brooke wasn't going to let her tear her down.

"Yes, it is."

The look on her mother's face was priceless; she went from glaring at Brooke to her eyes practically bulging out of her sockets. Her mouth was half open, as if she wanted to say something but nothing would come out. There was an uncomfortable bout of silence before her mother's face contorted into a more accusing expression.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?"

Brooke was pretty sure Victoria didn't actually _think_ she was pregnant—it was just the type of question someone like her mother would ask in this situation. So, when she slowly nodded, Victoria looked more surprised then she really should have been.

"Yes, I am." And, although she didn't need to explain herself to her mother, she decided to anyway. "But we're not getting married because of the baby—we actually _love_ each other— so please refrain from calling me a slut or some other offensive title. I'm really not in the mood."

Victoria stood there incredulously, her expressions changing from second to second, before smiling arrogantly and letting out a little laugh.

"You really messed up big time, Brooke. Do you know how insane this is? You can't be having a baby at your age—how can you even run a business? Before you know it, Clothes Over Bros will be a bigger mess then it already is and you'll have to give it up. Don't you see, you're giving up everything for nothing!"

Brooke shook her head, not even believing the words that were coming out of her mother's mouth. "You have no right to walk in here and criticize me for my own decisions. I've wanted to be a mother for awhile now and you sure as hell know that—you did everything in your power to stop it—and I won't let you try to make me feel bad about this. I'm happy and I'm finally getting what I've been wanting all these years. And I know running a business is going to be hard, but I can deal with it. I'm not giving up anything, I'm gaining everything."

Victoria just laughed. "I'll let you think that, but you and I both know that isn't true. Wait until the press gets a hold of this, Brooke. You'll be a horrible example, you know. I mean, who's even the father? You haven't had a boyfriend in years. And please don't tell me it's that insufferable blonde boy who you went crazy over in high school."

Brooke glared at her mother dangerously. "Yes, Lucas is the father and I'd appreciate if you didn't talk about him like that; he's a great guy and I love him."

"This is just great," Victoria said, turning around and walking outside, "way to ruin your life. You're doing the same thing I did your age and one day you're going to wake up and regret it. Face it, Brooke, you and I are one of the same."

It was hard to pretend that Victoria's words didn't scare her a little, but she knew that it wasn't true; she and her mother were complete opposites and she could _never_ be like her.

"I'll let you think that," Brooke said, repeating her mother's words from earlier, "but you and I both know that isn't true."

With that, Brooke slammed the door in her mother's face.

That felt good.

She took a deep breath, not looking back as she made her way into the backroom. Tonight had definitely not gone the way she thought it would. Her cell phone rang and she saw that it was Lucas. She picked it up, telling him that she'd be home in a few minutes, and then gathered all her things, preparing to leave.

Sometimes she really hated her mother. It was like Victoria's main goal in life was to rattle her and berate her for living her life the way she wanted to live it. Why could her mother realize that she was happier now than she ever had been? And why couldn't Victoria realize that she actually knew what she was doing and that she had everything under control? It was sad that after twenty-two years, her own mother didn't even know her.

And with that thought she left her shop, trying to rid her mind of the one person in her life that she disappointed her more times than she could count.

**A/N:** Alright, so there's Chapter 28. Hope you enjoyed it! I've created a pretty detailed outline for the rest of the story and it looks like there will be a total of 44 chapters, give or take one or two. I'm super excited about some of the stuff I've got planned, although I think most of the major drama is pretty much dealt with.

Anyway, I'm off to watch the latest episode of OTH, so please leave me a review to cheer me up after I'm finished! ;D


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Lucas was on his computer trying to get some writing done, when he heard the doorbell ring. He looked over at the clock; it was almost four and Brooke would be getting home soon. He had made her promise to cut down her hours and, after her stressful day with her mother a couple of nights ago, she had readily agreed.

There were not many people in this world who could give Dan Scott a run for his money, but Victoria Davis was on the road to getting there. It was sad that Brooke's own mother would belittle her own daughter so much, just because she could. It was wrong and it was definitely something Dan would do.

He smirked at the though of Dan and Victoria—if those two ever teamed up their lives would be hell. At the same time, the thought made him a bit nauseous. Together, those two could probably take over and destroy the entire world in a matter of days.

His kid sure had quite the pair of grandparents.

He stood up and headed to answer the door. When it swung open, he immedietly regretted it.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Victoria asked, her eyes sweeping over him disapprovingly.

He sighed. "I live here."

She laughed, arrogance pouring out every ounce of her body. "There must be some misunderstanding— my daughter lives here and she did not tell me she invited you to mooch off of her."

"There's no misunderstanding," he said, controlling the urge to roll his eyes. Despite the fact that he had a very _strong_ dislike for Brooke's mother, he would do his best to be the better person and act respectful in her presence. "She and I live together now."

Victoria's lip curved up. "Of course. Tell me something, Lucas— are you _trying_ to ruin her life?"

He had the decency to keep a straight face instead of laugh like he wanted to. "Last time I checked Brooke was pretty happy."

She pushed past him and strode into the living room. He followed. "Not to be rude, but why are you here? I thought Brooke made it clear that she doesn't want to see you right now."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Brooke has no idea what she wants. You are living proof of that."

His eyes narrowed. "I know that you don't like me very much, but you should know that I love Brooke very much and I'm going to take care of her and if for some strange reason you actually care about her, then that should be enough for you. And if you _don't_ care about her— which I'll tell you right now it seems like you don't— then I'm going to have to ask you to stay out of her life. You have no idea what she's gone through the past few months and she doesn't need the added stress that you always seem to bring when you visit."

"I _care_ about Brooke," Victoria said defensively. "She's my daughter, for God's sake."

He crossed his arms and looked at her with narrowed eyes. "You do a great job showing it."

She glared at him. "I didn't come here to be criticized by you."

"Why did you come then?"

She frowned. "I came to say goodbye to Brooke. I'm leaving and I won't be back for awhile. I wanted to tell her that I'm giving up; she obviously doesn't want me to be apart of her company again and I won't keep fighting her. But since she's not here, I'll just go."

There was something about the defeated expression Victoria wore that made him call her name as she strode towards the door.

She paused, looking back at him dejectedly. "What?"

He froze, not exactly sure what he wanted to say. "I want you to know that I believe you when you say you care for Brooke. Dan, my dad…well, he's a lot like you and I know that he loves me— it's just hard for him to actually show it." He laughed humorlessly and continued. "Anyway, I guess I just wanted you to know that you don't have to worry about her. I know that you think Brooke is screwing up her life, but she's got it under control. If she's learned anything from you it's her work ethic. She's strong and she's stubborn and Clothes Over Bros will be just fine. And so will Brooke for that matter. I'll make sure of it."

Victoria looked at him for a moment, her eyes narrowed as took in his words. A few moments later she simply nodded.

"That is…good to know." She seemed to struggle to get the words out. "Thank you, Lucas."

He nodded, a sincere smile on his face as he watched her leave. For the first time he felt like understood Victoria Davis. She was not the nicest of people and he was pretty sure she cared more about herself then her own daughter, but underneath it all he knew that she still cared. She really did just want what was best for Brooke and he got the feeling that Victoria was finally realizing what that was.

* * *

Peyton trudged through the airport, excitement rising in the pit of her stomach. She was in Savannah and Jake would be meeting her outside with Jenny. It had been years since she had been here and the thought of seeing Jenny was both nerve-wracking and exciting. She worried about the trivial things—like if Jenny wouldn't like her or she wouldn't want to share her with Jake—but she knew from the way that Jake talked about her that Jenny already likes her and she has no problem with the girl who's been taking up so much of her daddy's time lately.

She was looking forward to her time with Jake and Jenny, though, and she would definitely be getting a lot of it. She was basically here to help them pack and then drive up to Raleigh in a couple of days with all their stuff. It would definitely be interesting.

She spotted Jake almost immediately. He was standing by the baggage claim looking up at the arrival monitors. Standing next to him was a small blonde haired girl. Unlike Jake, she was facing her and to her surprise, the young girl smiled at the sight of her. Jenny grabbed Jake's hand, pointing excitedly over at her.

She was frozen in place. She honestly couldn't believe how tall Jenny was; she almost reached her hip. And she was so beautiful too with her long, dirty blonde hair and dark brown eyes—she was all Jake.

A huge smile lit up his face as he spotted her. He took Jenny's hand and walked through the crowd towards her.

"Have a nice trip?" he asked as he reached her.

She nodded, her eyes moving to the little girl standing in front of her. She just shook her head, still completely amazed at how much Jenny had grown.

"Hi, Jenny," she cracked out, shaking her head incredulously. "I'm Peyton."

Jenny nodded enthusiastically. "I know who you are. Daddy talks about you all the time. He says you're the best drawer he knows and that you're gonna teach me how to draw just like you."

Peyton smiled, feeling relief wash over her body; Jenny seemed like she was going to be very easy to get to know.

"Did he? I tell you what, I'll give you drawing lesson free of charge every night I'm here and you'll be the best in no time."

"Cool!"

Jake laughed and moved to help Peyton with her things. "Let's get going."

As they walked to the car, Jenny took hold of Peyton's hand. Peyton looked down at the smaller girl with a smile and Jenny smiled back cheerfully.

"You're hair isn't as blonde as it is in the pictures," she said. "And it's not as curly."

Peyton laughed. "I've done a lot of stuff to it over the years."

"I could still recognize you, though. Daddy has a picture of you and me when I was just a baby on the fridge and I look at it everyday."

Her heart leapt at Jenny's words; it meant the world to her that after all these years Jake still cared enough about her to make sure Jenny knew about her.

"I have a ton of pictures of you," she said, looking up at Jake, who was just staring straight ahead with a small smile on his face. "You were so small. I guess we'll have to take a bunch of new pictures to add to the collection."

Jenny nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah!"

They'd reached his car and he packed the things inside.

"Thanks for coming down, Peyton," he said as they all got in the car. "It means a lot."

"No problem," Peyton said. "You helped me move and I'll help you. Plus, I want to be here. There's no other two people that I'd rather hang out with this weekend."

"Really?" Jenny said, poking her head into the front seat.

Peyton grinned as Jake put a hand on her knee and looked back at the girl she'd once thought of as a daughter.

"Really."

* * *

Brooke swung open the door, moodily flinging her purse onto Lucas' infamous couch and then moving towards the kitchen table where Lucas was sitting.

He looked up from his computer curiously. "Everything okay?"

She was incredibly tired and despite the fact that her morning sickness was getting a little bit better, she had thrown up twice today. Then, of course, the shop had been incredibly busy. It was summer and high school girls were spending all their time either shopping or going to the beach and, since today was abnormally cold for typical day in July, shopping seemed to be the major activity. So, to put it simply, annoying teenage girls were coming in and out of her shop, many times not even buying anything. If she was that irritating when she was younger then she felt really bad for the employees at the stores where she used to shop.

To top it all off, her mother had shown up before Brooke left for the day and she'd acted annoyingly odd. All Victoria had done was come inside and say that she was leaving and she would stop bothering her about Clothes Over Bros. Then she had simply wished her luck and peacefully left.

It just wasn't right. It was ironic that Brooke was more frustrated with her mother's visit today than her visit two nights ago which had not gone well at all.

Taking a seat across from Lucas, she sighed and rested her head in her hands. "It was just really busy today and then Victoria stopped by before I left, so that didn't really help with anything."

He looked at her strangely. "What did she say?"

"She just told me she was leaving and she wouldn't bother me anymore and then she said, and I quote, 'good luck with everything.' What does that even _mean_? Is she trying to be condescending or what? I swear I can't read that woman anymore." She threw her hands up into the air, growing more frustrated by the minute.

"Maybe she just meant what she said: good luck with everything."

She couldn't help but glare at him; leave it to Lucas to try find redeeming qualities in just about everyone. "You don't understand my mother, Lucas. There are always hidden messages behind her words. We're talking about a woman who is ninety-nine percent evil and one percent decent."

"Maybe she's using the once percent."

She frowned, wondering why he was being so nice about her. Normally he would go on and on about how he hated Victoria for stressing Brooke out, but now it almost seemed like he was defending her.

"Okay, Lucas, what the hell is going on?"

He smiled guiltily at her. "I talked to your mom earlier. She stopped by the house to see if you were here and we had a little chat. And, while I didn't exactly find too many of her nice qualities, I kind of got to understand her a little bit. She wants what's best for you and she doesn't want you to regret your choices like she does."

Brooke looked at him incredulously. "So you're defending her for regretting _me_?"

He shook his quickly. "No, absolutely not. But I don't think she regrets you, Brooke. I think she just regrets never following her dreams. You have what she's wanted for a long time and she thinks you're giving it all up and taking the route that she did."

"Therefore meaning she regrets me." She really couldn't see it any other way and she didn't think Lucas would be able to find a way around it either.

He sighed, clearly frustrated. "Look at it this way: Dan regretted me, he doesn't anymore. Victoria regretted you; she doesn't anymore. But at the same time they wish they could have done things differently. I honestly think she's proud of you, as much as it might pain her to admit."

"I don't understand how you can side with her when you are able to compare her to Dan."

He paused for a second and then let out a soft chuckle. "I don't know how either. But the point of this is that, deep down, you're mom cares about you. She openly told me that today and I honestly believe her."

Brooke did know that Victoria cared for her, but it was still hard to actually believe. And Lucas was making a bigger deal about this then he needed to. But he was partly right, she knew that, and she was pretty sure that he wanted her to be able to find the good qualities in her mother before not being able to find any at all.

It didn't make a lot of sense, but she understood.

"I guess I see your point. And I'm glad you talked with her; maybe now she can understand why I chose this path for myself." She took a long breath; this conversation was exhausting.

"Alright, enough about Victoria," he said, standing up and walking up behind her. He kissed the top of her head and ran his hands down both her arms. "How about we get some dinner?"

He trailed kisses down her neck and she found herself momentarily distracted. "Mmm…in or out?" she cracked out.

"In," he murmured and she twisted around, looking straight at him. "We can do so much more if we order in."

She grinned. "Good answer, boyfriend." And then her lips crashed onto his.

He smiled against her lips as he pulled her up from the chair and into his arms. She pushed him back towards the couches and he fell in between them both, pulling her down with him.

"Hmm," she said, looking around curiously as she lay on top of him, "this could actually be interesting. The way that the couches are put together completely hides us from the rest of the living room."

He laughed and kissed her forehead lightly. "I told you this couch would be useful."

She just smiled, pulling him in for another kiss. They hadn't been together since before the scare six weeks ago and even thought the doctor had said it was fine to continue on as normal, Lucas had been extremely hesitant. But now, with him on top of her and his hands practically ripping off her blouse, she was pretty sure he had finally given in.

And then he pulled away.

"We can't do this."

She glared at him and grabbed his shirt— which he was miraculously still wearing— and pulled it over his head. She was wearing only her bra and skirt, but he didn't appear to want to pull anything else off anytime soon. Instead he settled on the carpet, lying on his side and resting his hand on her side. His eyes rested on the small bump on her belly and he smiled.

She looked at him with growing frustration. "Lucas, seriously, we can do this."

"I'm good," he said, looking at her sweetly and moving his fingers to her belly, stroking it soothingly.

"That's great," she said, rolling her eyes, "but _I'm_ not."

He just smiled and she found herself growing increasingly annoyed at his laidback behavior on this subject. She seriously wanted him right now and here he was calmly rejecting her. She knew it was because he wanted to make sure she was completely healed, but she had a strong feeling that he wouldn't be sure of it until the baby was actually here. She groaned at the thought and he just laughed.

"Okay," she said, sitting up and shoving his hands away, "now you've completely lost your chance. You've annoyed me to the point that even if you wanted me you couldn't have me. Nice going, Lucas."

He grinned cockily and sat up with her. "So, say I changed my mind right this second. You would say no?"

Knowing that he was teasing, she glared fiercely at him. "You know, this protective thing you've got going on is starting to get annoying."

He pretended to be offended. "Aw, really? But isn't that something you used to love about me?"

She heaved a huge sigh and stood up. He was annoying her more than he should have been, but she was not in the mood to tolerate it. She could blame it on her crazy hormones.

He grabbed her hand. "Wait, come here."

She looked at him exasperatingly and then sat down again. He leaned against the couch and she sat in between his legs as his arms wrapped around her.

"I need to know that you're completely okay," he said, resting his chin on her shoulder.

She leaned back against his chest and his hands rested on her stomach. "I am, Luke. I've never been better."

She felt him grin against her cheek. "Hmm, how do I know you're not just saying that?"

"Because I care about our baby too and I would never do anything if I wasn't sure that it was okay."

He didn't respond to this immediately. Instead they both sat in silence for a few moments, his hands absently stroking her belly.

"I'm sorry," he finally said and she tilted her head to look at him. "I know that you would never do anything to hurt our baby or yourself. If you're ready then so am I."

She smiled and twisted around to sit on her knees and face him.

"I definitely _am_ ready. And I'm not just saying that because I'm horny."

He chuckled, cupping her cheek with his hand. "Then I am going to make you a _very_ happy woman tonight and you are gonna _love_ me for moving my couch in here."

She laughed, kissing him gently, and then pushed him roughly onto the ground with a huge grin on her face. "I'm counting on that."

**A/N:** Sorry this chapter was pretty short but what I've got planned for the next few chapters should be pretty interesting, at least _I _think it is. You all can be the judge when you see it. This will be the last of Victoria you see for awhile, but she will be back if everything goes according to plan. Anyway, not much happened in this chapter, but we got some Jeyton and Brucas love, which is always good.

On the topic of Jeyton, who else totally loving Jeyton the 2nd (Julian + Peyton, most are calling them JuPe :D) on Monday's episode? Seriously, those two had some _amazing_ chemistry. I'm not just saying that because I don't want Peyton with Lucas, either. I honestly just _loved _those too together. And even though JuPe can never compare to Jeyton, I definitely would settle for them if they can't get Jake back. I've been thinking, and I've seen this theory on message boards, that Mark brought in Julian because they can't get Bryan Greenburg back for Jake. Think about it, Mark decides he wants a Brucas endgame but he wants Peyton happy too. Jake isn't an option anymore so he introduces Julian, a guy Peyton was in love with at one point and someone who genuinely cares about her. Everyone falls in love with JuPe, including some LPers, and _boom!_ we've got a Brucas/JuPe endgame. I'm all for it. Haha, I'm probably dreaming, but I really think it's possible at this point, especially with a seventh season. It actually boosted my faith incredibly, even though there's spoilers around that Julian and Brooke are gonna have a thing. I honestly believe that Julian is only going to be good for BL. Let me know if any of you agree, because I'm definitely on a Brucas high right now and I hope this encourages some of you. I, personally, will not lose faith until the very final second of the very final episode and even then Brucas will be endgame in my mind and heart…

Haha, sorry for the rant but I have to give them occasionally :D. Thanks so much for reading and please remember to review!!!


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

"Watch out, Aunt Brooke!"

Brooke ducked just as a foam basketball flew past her. As she regained her balance, she looked at her godson and fiancé disapprovingly.

"Seriously, you two are going to ruin my furniture. Take it outside."

Lucas chuckled, walking over to her and placing a kiss on her cheek. "Sorry, babe. You okay?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm fine."

He smiled and, adding to her annoyance, bent down to place a kiss on her belly. She'd grown a lot during the last month and now in her nineteenth week of pregnancy, her stomach was noticeably showing. Lucas seemed to think her belly was adorable and she actually loved it too, but what she didn't love was the maternity clothes sold in most of the stores around Tree Hill. It got to the point that she was making some of her own.

Jamie tossed the ball into the air. "You don't really have a lot of room outside to play," he said, looking out the window with a frown.

"Yeah," Lucas agreed, "you don't even really have a back yard. Unless you want us to play in the street and you _know_ how safe that is. Especially with Tree Hill's track record of car accidents."

He was looking at her with a charming smile, as if he was trying to get her to give into him, but she knew better.

"Play on the porch."

He raised an eyebrow. "Brooke, your porch is like two feet wide."

"It's not _that_ small."

"Might as well be."

"It's either the porch or nothing at all."

"Aunt Brooke," Jamie said, putting on a pouting expression that she was pretty sure he only used when he wanted something, "can we _please_ play in here? I promise we won't break anything. And if we do I—well, Uncle Luke— will buy you a new one."

She laughed, knowing it was no use trying to say no to Jamie. He was always the best at winning her over. "Alright, you can play. But," she turned to look at Lucas, "_you_ are going to pay if you break anything."

He just shrugged, sending her a cute smile. "Whatever you say, Pretty Girl."

She shook her head and walked over to the kitchen before sitting down at the table and going over a few of her sketches. She and Lucas had Jamie for the weekend after she had practically order Nathan and Haley to take a "Naley" weekend to themselves. It didn't take a lot of convincing and so now Nathan and Haley were tucked away in a small cabin up north for the weekend, secluded from the rest of the world.

Amidst the yells coming from the living room, Brooke's cell phone began to ring and she grabbed for it immediately.

"Hey, Peyton," she said into the phone, trying to ignore Lucas and Jamie's jabbering.

"Hey," Peyton replied. "How's it going?"

"Not bad. How's Raleigh?"

Peyton was in Raleigh with Jake for the third time this month and Brooke found it both amusing and cute at how much she was traveling back and forth to be with him and Jenny. It had gotten to the point that Brooke was actually feeling like Peyton moved too, which wasn't something she altogether liked, but it was something she understood. Jake and Peyton were simply drawn together, just like her and Lucas, and they needed to be together. It was also a little funny because Jake and Peyton weren't even together romantically. According to them, they were still _just_ friends, whatever that meant. It sure seemed like they were more than just friends to Brooke, but she wasn't going to argue with them on that. They'd move forward when they were ready and she wasn't going to push.

"It's great. I'm hanging out with Jake and Jenny today at the park and then we're gonna go see a movie. How's you're weekend with Lucas and Jamie going?"

"Hmm," she said, smiling lightly as she watched the two boys toss the ball back in forth in the living room, at one point nearly knocking down one of her most expensive vases, "they're pretty set on destroying my living room, but otherwise it's going good. I'm working on some of my new maternity designs right now, actually."

"Cool," Peyton said. "Do you think you'll start a new line out of them? You've got Baby Brooke, how about Mommy Brooke?"

Brooke laughed, but it was actually something she'd been considering and it was definitely something that would sell well.

"Mommy Brooke," she replied. "I like the sound of that."

"I get name rights," Peyton said and Brooke could hear her laughter on the other side of the line.

"Yeah, we'll see about that, Sawyer." She winced as she heard a bang from the living room and looked with narrowed eyes as Jamie stood guiltily holding up the lamp he had just knocked over.

"It's okay!" he declared after he got a god look at it. He wore a triumphant smile and she couldn't help but immediately forgive him.

Brooke shook her head and focused back on Peyton. "I should get going before they destroy the whole house. I'll see you on tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," Peyton replied. "See you then."

Brooke hung up her phone and looked over at Lucas and Jamie, who were once again tossing the ball back and forth. Despite the fact that they were very close to destroying just about every nice piece of furniture in her house, she loved seeing Jamie and Lucas play. Watching Lucas interact with her godson just proved over and over that he was going to be an amazing father. Lucas was still a bit of a child himself when he was with Jamie, or even his sister, Lily, and Brooke knew that he would be the same for their child.

She was about to start working on her sketches again when she heard Lucas' cell phone ringing from it's place on the kitchen counter.

Not looking up from her work, she called, "Luke, your phone's ringing."

She heard him grunt from a few feet away and immediately looked over to see him and Jamie wrestling on the floor. Knowing that he was too preoccupied at the moment, she stood up and reached for it quickly, before it went to voice mail.

"Hello?"

There was no answer for a quick second, but then a tense voice spoke. "Hi, um, who's this?"

Brooke froze at the familiar voice. "Lindsay, hi. This is Brooke."

"Oh," Lindsay's voice softened as she recognized her. "Hi, Brooke. Is Lucas around?"

She didn't know why hearing Lindsay's voice made her feel so strange. It wasn't a jealous sort of feeling—she knew Lucas was over her—but it was more of a guilty feeling because she knew that Lindsay didn't know anything was going on between them

"Yeah, he is. Just a second."

She turned back towards the living room and looked straight at Lucas, who was now standing up and heading towards her. He looked at her curiously as she handed the phone to him.

"It's Lindsay."

His face dropped a little and she could tell that he was realizing that Lindsay was still clueless about everything going on. He took it, his frown turning into a confident smile, and placed a light kiss on her cheek before putting the phone to his ear.

"Hi, Lindsay…"

* * *

How long had it been since he had last talked to her? He knew he had emailed her sometime last week, but it had been a good month or two since they'd last actually spoken. And the last time he had seen her in person was more than three months ago, when he had visited Brooke in New York.

So much had changed since then and it finally occurred to him that Lindsay should know—she had the _right_ to know—about him and Brooke.

"Hi, Lindsay," he said, sending Brooke a smile as he took a seat at the counter. She was looking at him with an oddly guilty smile and he knew she was probably thinking the same thing as him.

"Lucas," Lindsay said, her slightly apologetic, "sorry to bother you."

"No problem. I'm actually glad you called. We haven't talked in awhile."

"I know," she agreed. "I think we've both been pretty busy."

"Any news on the latest manuscript of _The Comet_?" he asked. The last he had heard about his second book was that Lindsay's chief editor was looking over it. That had been over two weeks ago and he was starting to wonder if his book would ever make it to the shelf.

"Actually, that's what I'm calling about. I was hoping you could fly up to New York within the next few days and we could talk face to face. We've got a _lot_ to discuss."

Her words made him slightly nervous. "That doesn't sound good."

"It's not exactly great news that we'll be talking about, but it's not horrible news either. Do you think it will be a problem for you to come up for a few hours tomorrow? We can get you a flight in and out the same day."

He looked over at Brooke, who was sitting back at the table, staring at him with narrowed eyes.

"That's sounds good," he said, after a few moments of silence.

"Okay, great. I'll email you the flight info and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Great, I'll see you then."

He took a deep breath as he set his phone back on the table and then looked back at Brooke, who was just looking at him questionably.

"Looks like I'm going to New York tomorrow," he said, moving towards the table and taking a seat across from Brooke.

"Is everything okay with the book?" she asked concernedly.

He just shrugged. "I don't really know. She was pretty vague on the phone. Anyway, I leave tomorrow morning and get back tomorrow night, so it'll just be a day trip."

She nodded slowly. "Okay…"

Jamie ran over to them and looked up at Lucas curiously. "You're going to New York tomorrow?"

Lucas smiled, ruffling Jamie's hair. "Yup, I've got a business meeting with Lindsay."

"Lindsay," Jamie said thoughtfully. "I remember her. I liked her. But not as much as you, Aunt Brooke."

Brooke grinned pulling Jamie over onto her lap and kissing his cheek. "I certainly hope not."

Jamie giggled, playfully pushing Brooke's face away, and jumped back off her, running over to the TV and turning on Lucas' Wii.

Brooke turned back to him, obviously glad that Jamie got distracted so easily, and looked at him seriously.

"Are you going to tell her everything?"

"Yeah," he said, sighing, "I'm going to have to."

"She has a right to know and I feel bad that she's been kept in the dark for this long."

He nodded. "Speaking of left in the dark, when are you going to inform your employees up in New York of this whole thing? They've got to be curious about what's going on."

Brooke had yet to tell anyone other than close friends and Victoria about the baby and, similar to the Peyton ordeal, she kept putting it off. She insisted that they didn't need to know until it was necessary because as soon as they learned of it, the pregnancy would go public to the rest of the world. She wasn't ready for that yet and he couldn't blame her.

"Oh, no," she said, lightly smiling as the pointed an accusing finger at Lucas, "don't change the subject. You already know my answer to that question, so let's move back to Lindsay."

"What else is there to say?" he said, shrugging. "I'll tell her and then she'll know. It'll be okay. Lindsay's been over me for awhile now. It's not like this is going to be Peyton all over again."

She didn't look convinced, but he didn't know what else to tell her. He honestly believed that Lindsay would be okay with everything.

"Brooke," he said, lifting her chin with his hand, "look at me. Everything is going to be fine. Please don't stress over it."

She smiled softly, shaking her head innocently. "Who said I'm worrying?"

He grinned. "You are. I can tell."

Sighing, she reached for his hand across the table. "Alright, I _am_ stressing a little bit. But I just feel bad for her. She may not be into you anymore but I think she'd be crazy if it wasn't a _little_ hard for her."

"I know, and I'll be sympathetic to that. But she did great when I told her about Peyton and I think she'll do even better now. Plus, she always liked you better since you didn't, you know, hate her."

Brooke laughed. "Peyton was kind of a bitch to her most of the time, wasn't she?"

"Oh, yeah," he said, shaking his head at those awful memories of last year. That whole thing had been a mess.

He wasn't exactly looking forward to telling Lindsay everything, but it had to be done. It was just another step in moving forward in his relationship with Brooke and he really believed that Lindsay would be fine with everything.

Just like he had told himself when they were planning on telling Peyton: everything would be okay.

* * *

With Jamie back with his parents and Lucas in New York, Brooke was growing bored. Peyton was home, but she had gone straight to the studio and Haley and Nathan were spending the day with Jamie.

So now, as she lazed away on Lucas' couch—which she ironically found incredibly comfortable—she contemplated calling Peyton and telling her to skip the rest of the recording session and go baby shopping with her. But, just as she reached for her cell phone to do just that, something strange happened.

She felt the baby move inside her.

She actually _felt _it. And it was the most amazing feeling in the world.

Her hands flew down to her stomach and under her shirt and, although she couldn't feel it through her skin, the baby was _definitely_ moving in there. It felt a little bit like butterflies in her stomach—it was one of the strangest, most incredible, feelings she had ever experienced.

And, a few minutes later when the baby was settling down, she decided that she _had_ to tell Lucas. But as she looked at the clock, she knew that he was probably meeting with Lindsay right now and it wouldn't be good to interrupt that.

She was about to call Haley instead when she heard a knock on the front door. Hoping it was either Haley or Peyton, she practically skipped over to it.

The disappointment on her face when she saw who was standing there was pretty easy to see as she stared at the figure waiting behind the door with some surprise.

"Owen…"

* * *

Lucas waited impatiently for the door to his former fiancée's office to swing open so that he could finally figure out just exactly was going on with his book and also get everything else over with.

He'd been waiting for over ten minutes when Lindsay finally opened the door.

"Lucas," she said, smiling widely at the sight of him, "sorry for the wait."

He grinned, standing up and hugging her quickly. "No problem, Lindsay. It's great to see you."

"You too," she said, smiling sincerely.

She motioned for him to follow her into her office and he obliged. Taking a seat at her desk, she pulled out the large manuscript that was _The Comet_ and handed it over to him.

"Here's the deal," she said, turning suddenly businesslike, "my bosses just aren't digging your book."

He let out a deep breath and nodded slowly; he'd been expecting this. That didn't make it any easier, though.

She looked at him sympathetically. "I personally think it's amazing, but they just don't agree. And I can't make them change their minds, Luke."

"Okay," he said, nodding in defeat, "I guess I understand."

"But they still love you," she said, looking at him seriously. "We're not dropping you, Luke—we're just dropping the book. I'm not sure if you've been working on anything recently, but I was hoping that you could maybe start from scratch. They want something more in the romance department, maybe something a little like your first book."

It was good to hear that they weren't giving up on him, but he'd be lying if he didn't say it was a little bit discouraging. To just drop all of his efforts and hard work on this book and start completely new…That would be hard. But he could do it and he would.

"I'll try my best," he said as confidently as he could.

She smiled. "That's what I like to hear. And I'm not going to give you any sort of deadline right now. I want your best work and I'm not sure if I can get that from you if I give you a deadline. We _would_ at least like some sort of story board or outline by the end of the year, but other than that, take your time."

"Thanks, Lindsay," he said, honored that she still kept so much faith in him and was even willing to forego a deadline this time around. "I really appreciate this. I've kind of got a lot going on right now, but I'm going to try to figure something out."

She nodded, reaching out to put a hand over his. "I believe in you, Lucas. I really think your next one is going to be amazing."

He smiled, squeezing her hand gently. "Thanks, Linds."

Removing her hand a second later, she sat back in her chair in a more relaxed position. "So, now that that's all settled, how are _you_ doing? It's been forever since we've really talked and last I heard, you and Peyton were done and she was living here. Has anything changed since then?"

He took a deep breath, knowing where this conversation was headed. "A lot, actually."

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Like what, if you don't mind me asking?"

Looking down at his hands, he took a moment to settle his thoughts, and then looked back up at her with a small smile. He might as well just get it over with.

"I'm engaged."

Her face crumpled up in confusion. "Wait? Engaged? I thought you and Peyton broke it off?"

"It's not Peyton," he said and he couldn't help but grin at the next sentence that came out of his mouth. "It's Brooke."

Lindsay's eyes narrowed and she seemed to be struggling to comprehend his words. But, as he let her digest this, her face slowly returned to normal.

"Wow," she said, smiling lightly. "That's kind of a shocker."

"I know," he said, still smiling, "but we're so happy, Lindsay. I love her so much and I know that I've finally found the one that feels truly right. There's absolutely no doubts with her. And…" He took a slow breath and looked straight at Lindsay. "We're having a baby, too."

Lindsay's eyes widened and her mouth dropped a little bit, but she gained composure quicker this time. "Congratulations, Luke. That's really great."

She seemed totally sincere as she said it and he knew that Lindsay was genuinely happy for them. That was one of the great things about Lindsay and one of the qualities that she had that reminded him a little of Brooke—she had the ability to be happy for a person, no matter how hard it may be. If they were happy, she was happy.

"Thanks," he said, leaning back in his chair and finally relaxing.

"You know," she said, and this time her voice was a little more serious, "in the short time I got to know Brooke, we became pretty good friends. She's a great girl, Luke, and I'd hate to see her get hurt. I just hope you'll keep that from happening this time around."

He knew that she wasn't trying to sound critical of him, but it was still there and he completely understood it. He'd hurt a lot of girls lately, but he'd make sure that Brooke wasn't one of them.

"I know it may seem like I'm picking up girls left and right, but you've got to understand that I never meant for it to be this way. Me and Brooke… we've got _so_ much history together. Most of which you don't even know. My book can't even begin to describe what we went through; if anything _Ravens_ just took what Brooke and I had and compacted it into this barely meaningful high school relationship and made it seem like Peyton was the only one. But the thing is, that's not how it happened. There were times when, at only seventeen years old, I thought I was going to marry her. I thought she was the one for me and that I was the guy for her. I even started planning college around her. And at some point during that year I started being pushed into the wrong direction and she and I both got lost in different worlds. But we eventually found our way back to each other and I really believe this is how it was meant to be all along. She's the one for me and I have no doubt in my mind about that."

Lindsay nodded, smiling softly at him. "I believe you, Luke. To be honest, I'm actually kind of curious about you and Brooke. Maybe you should consider making your next book center around your love story with her."

He cocked an eyebrow at his, not entirely sure he wanted the whole world to know about him and Brooke. It was different with her than it was with Peyton; their relationship was so much more sacred and private and he didn't know if it would be a good idea to change that. But it _was_ a good storyline, he had to admit that, and he would consider it.

"I'll keep that in mind."

As they continued catching up, Lucas knew that, even though his book was getting sacked, his trip had been successful—Lindsay knew and she was happy for them and at the end of the day that was all that mattered.

* * *

"Owen…"

He smiled uncertainly at Brooke, shuffling his feet as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Hey, Brooke."

She looked at him with narrowed eyes, truly surprised that he would show up here today. They hadn't spoken since the eventful night at Tric when she had almost lost the baby and she thought she had made it pretty clear that she wasn't interested in him. So to see him standing at her doorstop, almost three months later, was rather random.

"Look," he said, before she could say anything, "I just wanted to come over and apologize for everything. I haven't really seen you around since Tric a couple of months ago and I haven't been able to get you out of my mind. So I figured I should just come here and let you know that I know I screwed up and if you could just give me…" His voice slowly trailed off as he his eyes lowered to her stomach.

The thin white tank top that she was wearing clung tightly to her body and did not hide her small protruding belly at all. So, as Owen finally seemed to notice it, he could not easily hide his surprise.

She didn't say anything—she didn't even know _what_ to say—she just waited for him to find some composure and make the first move. He was shaking his head, his eyes narrowed in confusion, and, when he finally removed his eyes from her belly and back onto her face, he looked utterly confused.

"I, uh… are you…?" He shook his head again, at a loss for words.

She finally decided to put him out of his misery. "I'm pregnant," she said, nodding as her hand went down to her stomach.

"Wow."

His face then went from looking confused and slightly embarrassed, to still confused and, if she guessed correctly, annoyed.

"Who's the father?" he asked, frustration clearly evident in his voice. He didn't even wait for her to answer before he continued. "Because I clearly remember you being single last time I saw you and, well, you look pretty pregnant— no offense— so you must have been pregnant then. And that explains why you weren't drinking…"

She looked at him, a small sympathetic smile on her face, and put up a hand to stop him from his rambling. She understood why he was confused, but she needed to explain it to him and order for her to do that he needed to stop talking.

"Owen," she said, and he paused to look at her, "why don't you come inside and we can talk."

He nodded, his face now serious, and she led him inside. She took a seat on her couch and he took one on Lucas'. Owen was looking around her house curiously, as if he was trying to figure out exactly what was going on just by noticing anything different. Looking down at the black leather couch he was sitting on, he frowned.

"This new?"

"Yeah," she said, taking a deep breath. There was something about the way Owen was acting that made her wary. As his initial shock wore off, he didn't appear to be too happy about her pregnancy and, judging by the fact that he admitted only a few minutes ago that he couldn't get her out of his mind, she was pretty sure he was disappointed.

"Owen," she began, "there's been a lot of stuff going on recently, most of which you're probably in the dark about and I can't blame you—."

"Brooke," he interrupted impatiently, "just tell me who the father is."

She kinked an eyebrow, surprised at his demanding tone, but obliged anyway. "Lucas…Lucas is the father."

This seemed even more surprising to Owen than the actual pregnancy. And, as the seconds ticked by and he simply sat there with his mouth open in surprise, she was beginning to wonder if he'd ever react.

Then a scowl appeared and he looked shockingly angry.

"Are you _serious_?" he finally said, his voice rising with each syllable.

She just nodded, confused at his attitude. Owen was behaving more irrational than he had the right to be. After all, what was it to him who she was with? She and Owen hadn't even really _dated_ let alone done anything else. She appreciated that he cared for her, but she didn't care for the way he was acting right now—almost like he owned her.

He shook his head incredulously. "Of all people, _Lucas_. Why the hell would you pick someone like him, Brooke? That guy has been engaged twice within the last year—three times now, judging by the ring on your finger. What makes you think he's going to stick around with you, huh? Face it, the guy is scum and he's not going to treat you the way you deserve to be treated. Hell, he's probably only with you because of this kid."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Here was Owen, a guy she had known for barely a year and a guy who had disappeared out of her life the moment she mentioned she might adopt, actually calling her own fiancé— the man she had loved since high school— scum.

She glared at Owen dangerously. "You have no idea what you're talking about. Lucas and I have a history that you can't even possibly imagine. He loves me and I wouldn't be with him if I didn't know that and I didn't trust him. And yes, he's made his fair share of mistakes this year, but it doesn't matter anymore. And you have no right to walk in here and insult him. Especially when you're no saint yourself."

Owen took a deep, steadying breath before calming down a little. "Look," he said, his voice a bit softer, "I'm sorry about everything. I was a jerk, plain and simple. I just wasn't ready to deal with kids and I—."

"I didn't _ask_ you to!" She was growing more and more frustrated by the minute. "I wanted that for myself, not you and me. I didn't ask you to be a father or even a father figure. But you didn't care; you just left without a word. It was the wrong thing to do and you know it. But that's not even the point, Owen. The point is that I love Lucas and that he loves me. That's really all it comes down to. He's stuck with me throughout this past year and he was Angie's father figure even when I didn't ask him to be. He was there for me and I didn't even have to ask. Because that's the kind of guy he is. And you have no right to say that he isn't."

Owen stood up, shaking his head and muttering something under his breath that she couldn't hear. He made his way to the door and she made no move to follow. His hand went to the door knob and he looked back at her again.

"I won't apologize for how I reacted because I honestly don't feel like Lucas is good enough for you, but I _will_ apologize again for what I did. I hope you can forgive me. And hopefully when..._if_ you and Lucas don't work out, you'll give me a chance to prove that I_ am_ good enough for you."

With that, he opened the door, disappearing behind it a second later. She sat frozen in place, not even able to fully comprehend all that had just happened. Owen had always been a pretty decent guy, except for that one notable exception, and she had never thought he could behave like this. But this Owen had been so cocky and rude and it almost seemed as if he thought she was still holding onto feelings for him.

He had some nerve. And she would let him know it eventually. But right now she would be just fine if she didn't ever see his face again. He had done nothing to prove to her that he was good enough for her and she really didn't think there was a way for him to ever prove that.

Lucas was the man she loved and if Owen thought he had even a _remote_ chance with her then he was insane.

It was as simple as that.

**A/N**: Hey everyone…so I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it, especially the Owen scene. I really don't like Owen much so he's not going to be shown in that great of a light in this story. Also, I know in season 6 Lucas' comet book was obviously published and did horribly, but that didn't happen in this story. Instead it's just not being published at all. So basically everything that happened during the three month gap between season 5 and season 6 in my fic (when Leyton were engaged) is not the same stuff that has been happening on the show, except that Brooke _has _gotten attacked. So, no Sam, no Quentin death, no Brooke handing C/O to Victoria, no Nanny Carrie _or_ Dan getting hit by any car, etc. By the way, Dan _will_ be showing up later in the fic. I realize I've ignored characters like him and Deb and Quentin, but they just haven't really found their way into this story yet (although I really don't see Quentin showing up in this story, sorry for those who loved him). Anyway, just thought I'd let everyone know, just in case any of you were confused.

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed next chapter and please remember to do the same for this one! Even just something as simple as "Nice chapter" would be great.

Thanks for reading!


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

It was not a lie to say that Lucas' trip hadn't been successful. It also wasn't a lie to say that it had been.

His latest book had been sacked and, after a long meeting with Lindsay's bosses, he had been left slightly offended at just how much they had hated it. And then they had flat out told him that if his next one wasn't good, they would drop him. That hadn't made him feel very good either, although Lindsay was much more optimistic.

Still, it had been successful in the area that mattered most: getting complete closure with Lindsay. That wasn't to say that he hadn't had closure with her all this time, but until everyone who was important to him knew of him and Brooke, he couldn't properly move on.

And so now the deed was done and he was happy to have gotten it over with.

When he arrived home at around ten at night that same day, Brooke was waiting for him in the living room. Her head twisted to look at him the moment he opened the door and she jumped off the couch and over to him, pulling him into a tight hug.

He laughed, wrapping his arms around her.

"It's only been twelve hours, Brooke," he said, smiling as he pulled away to look at her.

"Twelve very _long_ hours," she said, her smile turning into a wary frown.

He regarded her curiously, not sure why she seemed so suddenly worn out. Taking her hand, he led her back to the couch and they sat down.

"Are you okay?"

She sighed dramatically, falling back onto the couch and staring up at the ceiling.

"Owen stopped by."

Lucas' eyes narrowed and he found himself confused. They hadn't had any interaction with Owen for a few months, so why would he stop by now? Lucas wasn't sure, but he did know that Brooke seemed upset so he was not taking it as a good thing.

"What happened?" he asked after a few seconds of silence.

Brooke sat up again, looking at Lucas with a scowl on her face. "He came by to apologize for everything—he couldn't get me out of his mind, apparently."

Lucas frowned at her words, not entirely sure what to think of this.

"Then he saw that I was pregnant and his attitude totally shifted. He got…sort of angry and he practically demanded to know who the father was and when I told him it was you, he got even angrier and called you scum and said that you were only with me for the baby and that you weren't good enough for me…"

She was rambling now, but he got the gist of everything and it didn't make him happy. Frankly, he didn't care what Owen thought of him. What he did care about was that Owen seemed to have stressed Brooke out much more than necessary. She seemed so rattled by everything, especially since she was continually rambling about how much of a jerk Owen was and how he was an idiot for thinking he had a chance with her.

He didn't see Owen as competition at all. There was nothing to worry about there, but unless Owen wised up and saw the stress he was bringing her, Lucas wouldn't allow him to be near her. She couldn't be stressed like this, especially in her condition, and Lucas would make sure this was clear to Owen.

"Brooke," he said, and she finally stopped talking. He put a hand over hers and squeezed it gently. "It's okay. I don't care what Owen thinks of me. If he thinks I'm scum, then that's what he thinks. I honestly don't give a crap."

She was glaring at him, but he knew it was because she was angry with Owen, not him. "He can't just walk around you like that, Luke. He's such an ass. I should have seen it all along. He and I were barely even dating and now he thinks he owns me. I swear when I see him again—."

"I really don't think you should be seeing him again anytime soon," Lucas said, before she could say anything else. "Brooke, you can't let him get to you. I don't know what's up with Owen, but whatever trouble he's causing isn't good for you or the baby."

She seemed to calm a little as she took a slow and steady breath. His thumb gently rubbed her hand and then she slowly nodded.

"You're right. I shouldn't let him get to me. It's just he came in here and made it seem like he was so much better than you and I couldn't stand it."

He pulled her close to him, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I know," he said, "but I don't want you to feel like you need to bend over backwards to defend me. I swear, if anything happens because he's stressed you out, especially if it's because he's saying bad stuff about me...I don't know what I'd do. Brooke, _promise_ me you won't stress over this."

She sighed, but nodded. "I'll try not to. I guess it was just a lot for me to take in and I might have overreacted but it just really got to me. But I won't stress over it anymore, I promise you that."

A few moments of silence passed over them as he thought about her words. He really hated how people kept on barging into their lives, condemning them for their actions and for their happiness. First Victoria, now Owen…Who was next?

"How did everything go with Lindsay?" Brooke interrupted his thoughts, looking up at him with tired eyes.

"It went really well. First she was kind of hesitant because she doesn't want to see you end up getting hurt, but after some convincing that I wasn't going to do that, she was genuinely happy for us."

"She was worried about me?" she asked. He nodded and a big smile formed on her face. "I always liked her."

He grinned, rubbing her back slowly. "She is pretty amazing. Nothing compared to you, though."

She playfully swatted his chest, before looking at him seriously.

"What's going on with your book then?"

He sighed at the mention of his book and then went on to explain that it was not going to be published, but that Lindsay wanted him to start thinking about ideas for a new one. He told her about his meeting with the big editors and that they hated his book and about how Lindsay was being encouraging about everything, but her bosses weren't. Then he told her that Lindsay suggested he make a book about his and her love story.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Us? Really?" She looked at him thoughtfully, a small smile forming on her lips. "That would actually be kind of cool. Although I really don't know where you would begin, because it's kind of a long road to get to where we are now."

"Yeah," he agreed, "I'm not sure how it would go either. But you would be okay if I did do something about us? I mean, it would make our private lives a little less private and it would probably go through so much editing that in the end it would almost be unrecognizable."

"If you want to do it, then I'm all for it. I'll support you no matter what."

He smiled and looked down at her, placing a short kiss on her lips.

"Thanks," he said, resting his forehead against hers. "I don't know for sure if I'm going to do this, but it's good to have your permission."

She just nodded, her hands running up and down his back. Lucas twisted around so that he was directly facing her. She was smiling contently as she took his hands in her own, playing idly with his fingers. He pulled her in for another, much longer kiss, savoring the way her lips felt against his. It was perfect, just the way it was meant to be, and there was no one else in this world that he would rather be with.

Suddenly she pulled away, her face loaded with excitement.

"I can't believe I forgot!" she said and he found himself smiling with her, even though he had no clue what was going on. "The baby moved today."

An now he understood her excitement.

"Really?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

His face lit up and his hand went immediately to her belly and under her shirt. He waited intently to feel something, but got nothing.

She put her own hand over his and tilted his chin to look at her. "The actual kicking thing hasn't happened yet. It'll be another week or two before you can feel it too, but _I'm_ finally able to feel the baby move."

He was a little disappointed that he had to wait a little longer, but it was still amazing to hear about what Brooke was experiencing. His hand remained on her stomach, as if he was willing the baby to kick just hard enough so that he could feel, and looked at her intently.

"What does it feel like?"

She looked down at her belly thoughtfully. "It's hard to explain. It's a little bit like when you're nervous and you feel like your stomach is fluttering—like butterflies. I don't know…it's kind of weird, but it's incredible too."

"Has he been moving a lot?"

"He _or_ she has been moving almost non-stop since this afternoon. I love it, but I'll be honest, it's starting to get a little annoying."

He laughed and lifted up her shirt, revealing her bare stomach. His hands roamed the small bump and he wished that he could feel the baby moving too.

"Is he moving now?" he asked.

She nodded and moved her own hand onto her belly. "Yeah, just a little. It's calming down a bit."

"Where at?" He couldn't help his curiosity; he needed to understand what was going on in her body.

"It's not really anywhere specific," she said, her hand resting underneath her belly button. He moved his hand over to hers, resting it on top.

"I can't wait to feel him kick," he murmured, letting his chin rest on top of her head. He could feel her nod against him and he moved his hands, wrapping his arms around her.

Brooke's belly was already proof that this baby was really coming, but he knew that to actually feel it move would just further the evidence. He was sort of jealous that he couldn't feel it yet, but he was happy for Brooke; she seemed so content as she leaned against his chest, her hands still tucked between them both and placed on her belly.

This was how it was supposed to be, just him and her and their baby.

It was perfect.

* * *

Today had been exactly what she needed. Three days after the incident with Owen, Brooke was finally getting to properly relax— at least if you call shopping relaxing.

Relaxing or not, her morning of shopping with Haley, Peyton, and Rachel had been perfect and now, as they sat together at a small café eating a late lunch, Brooke was already itching to get back and do some more.

"Brooke," Haley said, looking at her exasperatingly as she mentioned this to them, "you _seriously_ want to shop even more? We were at the mall for almost _five_ hours and you've got like eighteen bags of clothes."

"Haley," Peyton said, "this is Brooke we're talking about. She could shop through the night if she could."

"Actually," Brooke said, taking a sip of her water, "this is just the beginning of my shopping spree. Tomorrow, when we find out if we're having a boy or a girl, I will be going non-stop baby shopping."

Rachel, who had been looking at her cell phone for the past five minutes, looked up at her curiously. "I thought Lucas didn't want to know the sex?"

"Yeah, considering I'm doing all the dirty work, I get the final say. He'll live."

It sounded mean, but Brooke honestly didn't care if Lucas wanted this to be a surprise. Call her selfish, but she _wanted_ to know and so she was going to find out. Besides, how did he expect her to pick out baby clothes or paint colors for the nursery if she didn't know what they were having? And she swore that if he told her to go neutral on everything, she'd slap him. That did _not_ work for her.

Rachel smirked. "Of course you'd say that. I have to say I agree, though. I mean you'll still be getting a surprise, just a little bit earlier. And, as your only true friend in this group, I will be shopping with you all the way."

Haley just laughed while Peyton kinked an eyebrow. "Whatever you want to think, Rach. Who are you texting anyway? You've been on your phone the whole day."

Brooke eyed Rachel curiously but the redhead just shrugged. "I'm just texting Josh about tonight."

"Tonight?" Brooke asked.

Rachel nodded and continued pressing buttons on her phone. She didn't appear to want to say anything else.

"Um," Peyton said, a smile on her face, "is there something going on that you might want to tell us about?"

Rachel sent her a look and snapped her phone shut. "Josh is taking me out for drinks since _you_," she looked pointedly at Peyton, "have been neglecting him lately."

Peyton and Brooke shared an amused look and now Brooke was pretty sure that Rachel was more into Josh than she let on.

"Right." Peyton said. "You're just using that as an excuse to go out with him."

"I already told you a long time ago that Josh is hot," Rachel casually said. "Doesn't mean I'm into him, though."

"You keep telling yourself that," Peyton said, grinning as she patted Rachel's arm. "But you have my permission to date him if you want, not that you need it."

Rachel just rolled her eyes. "Good to know."

They all settled into a comfortable silence as their food was delivered to their table. Brooke looked over at Peyton, who was also focused on her cell phone. As she dug into her cheese ravioli, something she had been craving like crazy these past few days, she noticed Peyton's mouth widen into a huge smile.

"What's up?" she asked curiously.

Peyton looked up from her phone and grinned. "Looks like Jake's coming to town tomorrow and he's bringing Jenny."

"That's great, Peyton," Brooke said cheerfully. "It'll be great to see Jenny after all these years."

"You know what we need to do?" Haley said, looking up excitedly from her food. "We need to have everyone come over to my house tomorrow night and just hang out. You can bring along Jake and Jenny and we can have a little end-of-summer get together. It'll be fun."

Brooke grinned at the idea of any sort of celebration, quickly agreeing. "That sounds like an _excellent_ idea."

"Sure," Rachel said, not looking up from her phone.

"If it's not too much trouble, then that'd be great," Peyton said.

Brooke smiled, thrilled at the idea of spending tomorrow night with her closest friends. She was also glad that everyone seemed to moving forward with their lives—her and Lucas, Nathan and Haley, Peyton and Jake, and maybe even Josh and Rachel.

It would be good.

* * *

Lucas wasn't sure he should be doing this, but with Brooke still out shopping, he figured now would be the best time. He would tell her later—there was no way he would keep this from her—but he didn't want her discouraging him from doing it.

So now he walked through the familiar building towards the bar. It was almost six o'clock and Tric wasn't really even open for the night yet, but he owned the place so he figured he had the right to come in as he pleased. He spotted Owen behind the bar, obviously preparing for tonight's rush.

As he saw Lucas approach, his body immediately stiffened and he stood up tall, his eyes baring deep into Lucas'. He could tell Owen was trying to faze him out—he had seen guys like him try do it before—but even though Owen was one of the toughest guys he knew, there was no way he was going to intimidate him right now.

"We're not open yet," Owen said, tension immediately filling the room.

"I know," Lucas said, taking a seat at the empty bar right in front of Owen, "but I need to talk to you."

Owen took a deep breath and Lucas could tell he was trying to hide his frustration.

"I'm guessing Brooke told you about my visit." Lucas nodded. "And you're here to call me out on it?"

Lucas nodded again, his face remaining expressionless. He didn't want to start a fight with Owen—that wasn't his goal at all—but he needed to make sure he knew that he couldn't mess with Brooke right now.

"I meant what I said about you not being good enough for her," Owen simply said, standing his ground.

"I know," Lucas said, his face falling slightly, "and I agree with you. I'm _not_ good enough for her. Not at all. Truth is, I don't deserve someone as great as her. She's amazing and I'm _not_ and I've come to terms with it, because somehow she wants _me_ and I thank God for that everyday. But I didn't come here to talk about that."

Owen cocked an eyebrow. "Then what _did_ you come to talk about?"

Lucas took a deep breath, trying to figure out how best to get his point across. "You know that Brooke has wanted a kid for a while now and so have I, for that matter. And this hasn't exactly come easy for us." He paused, organizing his thoughts. "A few months ago she almost lost the baby. It was mostly due to stress and she was put on a full month of bed rest. But until this baby is born there is always going to be a risk of her losing it and just a little stress can trigger something terrible."

Owen's eyes narrowed. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because your conversation with her messed with her mind and she was pretty stressed over it. Look, I'm not going to tell you that you can't be her friend, because I don't have that right at all. Truthfully, I think you're a good guy. But if you can't be around her without being angry about all this, then you should stay away from her. Because if anything happens to her because of you I swear I _will_ hold you accountable. And you don't want that, trust me."

For a second Owen remained quiet, his face solemn as he took in Lucas' words. But then his mouth twisted into a frown and his eyes narrowed.

"You threatening me?"

"Depends on how you take it," Lucas said, standing up. He had said what he needed to say and it was best that he didn't linger here much longer. He turned to leave, not bothering to go any further.

Owen didn't appear to be following him, but as he reached the door, he heard him call back to him.

"I'll stay away. For now."

His voice was soft, almost defeated, and Lucas smiled in relief.

"I appreciate that," Lucas said, and then he walked straight outside, proud of his accomplishment.

Brooke wouldn't be happy when she learned what he had did, but he was glad that Owen at least understood a little of what was going on and wouldn't bother Brooke until he had come to terms with everything.

He understood why Owen was so angry, though. Brooke was an amazing person. She was beautiful and selfless and had the greatest heart. Yes, Lucas understood why Owen was feeling bitter—after all, when you've got a shot with Brooke Davis, why would you ever let her go?

**A/N: **I just wanted to take a second to thank some of my anonymous reviewers who I never really get the chance to personally thank:

_**Lena, **_**BrOoKe DaViS23, **_**bella**_**, delphine, **_**hopefulsoul**_**, ok, **_**Dontia**_, **theduckone, **_**maa0607, **_**sav, **_**leona1345, **_**Steph, **_**mimi,**_** martine, **_**DANI, **_and anyone else who I may have forgotten (and sorry if I did!): thank you so much for reviewing! It means the world to me and I just wanted to let you know that I read each and every one!

And to one of my favorite reviewers, who is also anonymous, **Lena**: First of all, you are one of the coolest reviewers I know! Haha, really your reviews are absolutely amazing. I take each one of your comments seriously. I love coming home after a long day to find that you've left me a review and especially love your long ones. I think most writers around here love long reviews and so yours are always a special treat.

As for your latest review, you're a lot like me in that I really only enjoy reading about Brucas, except for some Jeyton every now and then. Otherwise, it's all Brucas, which is why I haven't written a lot of Naley. I'm glad you liked the LL conversation—I thought it was necessary to get some closure in that area since he had gotten full closure with Peyton. You don't have to worry at all about any sort of cheating in this fic. I absolutely despise cheating of any kind no matter who the couple is. In the new season, if Lucas ever cheated on Peyton, even with Brooke, or if Peyton would cheat on Lucas with someone else, I would want to kill them. It's just so wrong to me and even though Lucas and Peyton are long forgiven for their actions back in high school, it would honestly ruin their characters for me. Same goes for Brooke and all of the other characters. As for Owen, I'm glad you liked that scene too and I hope you enjoyed the Lucas/Owen confrontation this chapter. So, lastly, thanks so much for reviewing! I believe in your first review you said that you don't review a lot, so it means so much that you do for me!

To **everyone** else, thanks so much for reading and/or reviewing! I love you all!


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

Today was going to be amazing. Brooke had decided that the moment she woke up and, so far, she had not been proven wrong.

First off, she and Lucas would be finding out if they would be having a boy or girl and she would soon be able to finally pick out all of the baby stuff she'd been dying to buy for months now. Although Lucas was still trying to see if he could make her wait to find out, he was now getting used to the fact that he was fighting a losing battle and was slowly but surely giving up. She would probably give into him if she knew waiting was _that_ important to him, but he really only wanted to wait for the surprise that they would get at the end of it all, and she honestly didn't find any point in that.

Then, later tonight, they would go over to Nathan and Haley's house and spend time with all their friends. She and Lucas would probably tell everyone the sex of the baby then. Jake would be bringing Jenny and Peyton and she found out that Josh would be joining them with Rachel, as well as Skills, Junk, and Fergie. It would be like old times and she was looking forward to it almost as much as their doctor's appointment.

Nothing could possibly ruin her day.

Except for maybe one tiny, but extremely annoying, thing.

Her cell phone had been ringing almost nonstop this morning and it was all work related. Deciding that she needed a break from all things business, she had ignored all of them.

But, as she strolled into the kitchen where Lucas was sitting, eating a banana, her phone rang again and, looking at the caller ID, she was actually happy to see the name on the screen.

"Millie! It's been forever."

"Brooke," Millicent said, her voice strangely strained, "how are you?"

"I'm fine," Brooke said, frowning slightly at Millicent's worrisome tone. "Is something wrong?"

"I should be asking you. How do you feel about everything coming out?"

Brooke paused, not exactly sure what her former assistant and one of her best friends was talking about.

"Uh, what?"

"About the baby."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Millicent had been caught up on everything for awhile now, but Brooke really had no clue what she was going on about.

"Okay," Brooke said, "I'm confused. What are you talking about?"

"There's a bunch of stories going around the entertainment world about your pregnancy. Wait, you don't know about this?"

Her eyes narrowed and a scowl appeared on her face as she finally realized what Millicent was talking about. The last thing she needed right now was the media butting into her private life. But first she needed to figure out _how_ they found out about everything.

"No, I had no clue. What are they saying?"

"Well, I guess there where a few paparazzi in Tree Hill the other day because they got a ton of photos of you eating and then leaving a restaurant with Haley, Peyton, and Rachel. It's all over the internet and I'm willing to bet it will be all over the entertainment news and magazines by tonight."

Brooke sighed and Lucas, who had been sitting there quietly, looked at her in confusion.

"Great," she said, not hiding the frustration in her voice.

"So," Millie said, "now that you know, how are you feeling?"

"Not as great as I was a couple of minutes ago. God, I swear the press is so annoying. They're probably sending a horde of paparazzi to Tree Hill as we speak to try to get even more pictures."

"The best way to keep that from happening would be to confirm everything right away."

Brooke nodded. "Yeah…"

Millicent was right; confirming everything was the only way to keep things from getting crazy. She'd kept their privacy for awhile now and she was thankful for that, but things had to go public eventually and it looked like eventually was now.

"How'd you figure out about this anyway?" she asked.

"Jennifer up at Clothes Over Bros headquarters has been trying to reach you all morning to ask you about it. When she couldn't reach you, she tried calling me to see if I could get through to you. She thought you were probably stressed with everything and were ignoring all work calls."

"Smart girl," Brooke said, putting her head in her hands. "Well, thanks for letting me know, Millie."

"No problem," she replied. "I'll talk to you later, Brooke, and I hope that everything works out quickly and easily. Call me if you need anything."

"Thanks," Brooke said, smiling lightly, "and I will."

The moment she hung up, Lucas was at her side asking her what was wrong.

"The press got some pictures of me yesterday and they obviously think I'm pregnant. So now it looks like I need to confirm everything."

She walked over to the coffee table, not waiting to see Lucas' reaction, and picked up his laptop. Sitting down on the couch and setting it in her lap, she typed in her name. She clicked the first link, _People_ online, and quickly saw what all the fuss was about.

She held back an aggravated groan as she read the article and looked at the corresponding pictures. Lucas sat next to her, also looking rattled, and she pushed the computer towards him, showing him everything.

She quickly reread it with him:

_**Is Brooke Davis Pregnant?**_

_**You be the judge— check out our exclusive (and revealing) photos of the talented fashion designer.**_

_Brooke Davis, creator of the insanely popular Clothes Over Bros fashion line, looks to be the newest addition of celeb mommies-to-be. Surprised? So are we. But according to some great snapshots taken in Brooke's hometown of Tree Hill, NC, where she currently resides, this is no rumor. Brooke was spotted chilling with friends at a local restaurant on Thursday afternoon and was sporting what we have decided is an undeniable baby bump. Wearing a flowing black halter top that looks to be her own creation, it's possible that the camera simply caught her at an unflattering angle, but considering she's a very talented fashion designer who truly knows her stuff, we're gonna have to say that she's definitely pregnant._

_If true, this begs the juicy question: who's the father???_

_  
Brooke Davis has been noticeably single throughout her time in the spotlight, with minor relationships that went virtually no where. And since candid photos of the fashion icon are few and far in between, especially with her in Tree Hill, it could be anyone. Our guess? We're not willing to make any bets, but we're thinking Lucas Scott, also a resident of Tree Hill and author of the popular book, _The Unkindness of Ravens_. Why, do you ask? From the little we've been able to get out of the Tree Hill locals, it seems Brooke and Lucas, who dated in high school, have been recently spotted together around town looking very much in love. _

_But like we said, at this point is our guess is as good as yours. What do you think? Bun in the oven or just a bad picture? Keep a look out for updates and we'll let you know!_

She glared at the computer, struggling to hide her annoyance. It was still weird that people found any sort of interest in here and she honestly didn't understand why people needed to know everything that was going on in her life. But unfortunately that's the sort of stuff that comes with starting your own fashion line at such a young age.

"Well," Lucas said, leaning back on the couch, "we knew it would come to this sooner or later."

"Yeah," she said, leaning against him, "but why today? Everything was going so nicely and then _this _had to happen. I'm probably going to have to make a million phone calls to the office dealing with this."

"Call Jennifer and she can probably deal with most of it," Lucas said reasonably.

"I know." She sighed again. "It's just so complicated."

"Why?" Lucas asked, a small, but encouraging smile on his face. "Just tell Jennifer that you're five months pregnant, I'm the dad, and that you're happy. That's all the press needs to know right now. They can make with it what they want. Otherwise, they don't need to know anything else."

She looked down at her stomach, placing her hands on either side, and nodded. He was right. Jennifer was trustworthy and would probably gladly do all the tough stuff for her. And after a few days, the hype would die down and people would probably stop caring. They might as well get over with as fast as possible.

"I'll call her now, then."

He nodded, grinning down at her. "Good." He stood up, heading towards the stairs. "I'm going to go upstairs and get ready. We've got the appointment in an hour, so try not to take too long."

She nodded, suddenly happy again at the thought of their upcoming appointment. She'd get this call over with and hopefully tonight they could get back to normal.

* * *

By the time they'd made it to the doctor's office, Brooke had received calls from all of her friends, telling her the same thing Millie had. She'd reassured them that she had taken care of everything and that she was okay with this and that she'd talk to them later tonight.

And, after calling Jennifer and being assured that she would take care of everything, Brooke could finally breathe easy again.

Now, sitting in the exam room, the only thing on Brooke's mind was their baby. Lucas' hand held onto hers as the doctor did the routine checkup and her face lit up with a smile as he performed the ultrasound. After telling them that everything looked great, the doctor asked if they wanted to know the sex of the baby.

"No, thanks."

"Definitely!"

Brooke glared at Lucas, who just smiled playfully at her.

He shook his head and grinned. "Fine."

The doctor smiled. "Alright, then. Well, according to my calculations, it looks like you two will be having a baby girl."

Coming in today she had known that there were really only two options of what would happen at their appointment: they would either learn they would be having a boy or that they would be having a girl. But she still couldn't help the surprised smile that lit up her face or the overwhelming burst of excitement that surged throughout her body when the word "girl" came out of the doctor's mouth.

She looked over at Lucas, whose smile was stretched from ear to ear. He looked so incredibly happy, and also a little surprised, but she knew that he was probably glad they hadn't waited after all.

Lucas tore his eyes from the screen, looking at her for a second and placing a sweet kiss on her forehead."

"A girl," he murmured his eyes full of wonder. "We're having a girl…"

She was glad to say that she was happy with Lucas' reaction. She knew that he was fine with a boy or a girl, but, although he had been absolutely convinced they were having a boy given that the last time a girl Scott had been born-- besides Lily of course-- was three generations ago she was pretty sure that he really wanted a girl most. After all, he's said a few months ago that after Angie he'd imagined having a little girl of his own.

And now he was finally getting one.

The doctor went on with the final parts of the exam and, as she watched Lucas sit there with the dreamy smile never leaving his face, she knew that he was probably even happier than he was letting on.

And she was happy too.

After Angier, she, too, had wanted a little girl of her own. Actually, if she'd decided anything during her time with her, she knew that it was that, if she ever did get to adopt, she would choose a girl. She loved boys, too, and she couldn't wait to have one someday with Lucas, but for some reason having her first child be a girl felt right.

Lucas still seemed kind of out of it as they headed out of the office and back to their car. His smile was still there and his hand was still gripping hers, but he just looked so amazingly content that it almost seemed as if he was walking on air. She'd never seen him like this before.

"You okay?" she asked, laughing a little as they both got in the car.

"Yeah," he said, just sitting there. "I'm just so happy. I really thought we were having a boy and I still would have been just as happy if we were, but a girl…It's just amazing."

She grinned, squeezing his hand. "Yeah, it is."

He took a deep breath and turned to look at her. "I guess I'm glad we found out."

"I knew you'd think so," she said, pulling him in for a brief kiss. "And now you get to go shopping with me tomorrow and pick out a bunch of adorable baby clothes."

He laughed. "Sounds good. And we can finally pick out the paint for the nursery."

"Yep," Brooke said, growing even more excited.

He chuckled lightly, placing a hand on her stomach. "My baby girl," he said, bending down to kiss her belly. "My baby girl," he said again and then he looked at her, "and my Pretty Girl."

* * *

Lucas looked around the room, a content smile on his face. As he sat on the couch in Nathan and Haley's living room, he felt like he was back in time with all of the people in his life who really mattered to him, save a select few who weren't in town. There were so many of his friends around him right now, all mingling and hanging out like old times.

Next to him, Nathan and Skills were playing NBA Live, while Junk and Fergie looked on, waiting to play the winner. Looking outside, he saw Peyton, her feet dangling in the swimming pool, watching Jenny swim with Jamie. Brooke sat next her, her hand resting contently on her rounded belly. Jake stood a few feet away, talking with Josh, who had come with Rachel, while the redhead helped Haley in the kitchen with Deb.

Everything felt so right.

His eyes made his way back to Brooke, who was now playfully splashing Jamie and Jenny. They had told everyone earlier that they were having a girl. Brooke had been so proud, and he had been too, as she excitedly told everyone of their doctor's visit. Not even the earlier press issue could bring her down.

He still couldn't believe they were having a girl. He'd thought that a boy was inevitable, at least for their first baby. After all, with his family's history, boys seemed to be the more popular of the two sexes. But a girl was what he had wanted. A boy would have been great too, but the thought of having his own little girl—the spitting image of Brooke, he hoped—was something he had looked forward to for as long as he had dreamed of being a father.

"Oh come _on_," Nathan said, glaring at the TV as Skills pumped his arms up in victory. Junk immediately reached for Nathan's controller.

"I told ya," Skills said, "I _am_ the master."

Lucas laughed, shaking his head as he stood to head outside, Nathan following. He smiled as he passed Josh on his way out.

"Daddy, Uncle Luke, come swim with us!" Jamie called out as he saw them appear through the sliding door.

Nathan grinned at him, nodding towards the pool, and then sprinted towards the water, pulling off a nice dive into the deep end. Jamie laughed, using his floaties to meet his father and Jenny followed.

Lucas sat down next to Brooke, putting his feet into the water and she smiled at him as he put an arm around her shoulder. Jake sat down next to Peyton, putting his arms across his chest as he watched Nathan and the kids play.

"You'd think Nathan could at least put a bathing suit on," Haley said, suddenly appearing at Lucas' side. He put his other arm around her.

"Nathan was always into swimming with his clothes," Peyton said, peeking across Brooke and smirking at Haley.

"Mmm, not when he's with me," Haley replied, a big grin on her face.

"Whoa, Hales," Lucas said, "too much information."

Haley laughed, shoving him playfully, and they all lapsed into a comfortable silence as they watched Nathan play with the kids in the pool. Before he knew it, Jamie was calling for him to join them and Jenny was calling for Jake.

"Only if Peyton comes," Jake said, grinning at her challengingly.

Lucas laughed and turned to Brooke. "Yeah, and Brooke and Haley, too."

"Um, how about no."

"And ruin this dress?"

Peyton rolled her eyes. "You two are such girls." She turned back to Jake and grinned. "Let's do it."

And then jumped into the water, clothes and all, Jake watching admiringly as she swam over to Jenny, Jamie, and Nathan. Lucas nodded at Jake and the two of them both dove in.

He made his way over to Nathan, who had Jamie on his shoulders, and watched as Jake pulled Jenny onto his. He swam next to Peyton, looking at her with a smile on his face and she grinned back, putting an arm around his shoulder.

"This is good," he said as his eyes wandered over to Brooke.

She nodded, looking lovingly over at Jake. "Yeah," she agreed, "it's perfect."

* * *

Clinging to the grocery bags with one hand and holding out his keys in his other, Lucas opened the car door. He piled the bags into the back, silently wondering how in the world Brooke could need so much food.

Shaking his head in amusement, he turned around. He jumped as he noticed a familiar person standing a few feet in front of him.

"Hello, son."

Lucas paused, not able to help the glare that had formed on his face, and looked at his father expectantly.

"What do you want, Dan?"

Dan just smiled, putting his hands into his pocket and shaking his head.

"I was out getting some coffee and saw you on the street. I thought I'd congratulate you about your impending fatherhood."

Lucas stared at him in confusion. "Wait, how do you know about the baby?"

"It's all over the papers," Dan simply said. "To be honest, though, I thought you'd tell your own father personally instead of having me find out with the rest of the public."

Lucas rolled his eyes. Typical Dan Scott— always trying to make the innocent feel guilty.

"Yeah, well, considering your not really going to be apart of this child's life, I didn't really think to tell you."

Lucas turned away, making his way over to the driver's side and opening the door. He groaned as he noticed Dan follow.

"Lucas," Dan said, his voice almost pleading, "I know that you're still struggling with me being released from prison, and I don't blame you, but I just want you to know that I really am happy for you. And I don't expect you to want me to be involved in your child's life, but don't you think they might want to know about their grandpa someday?"

Lucas clenched his fist together, getting in the car and slamming the door. He cracked the window open slightly. "Yeah, I do think she will want to know. And you know what I'll tell her? I'll tell her that her _grandpa_ killed her great uncle, the man she'll never get to know and the man that could have been the grandfather she needed. And that's all she needs to know."

He rolled the window back up, not bothering to look back at his so-called father, and drove away. He realized he was being a bit harsh to Dan, but if he seriously thought he could edge his way into his child's life, then he was sorely mistaken.

Now that he thought about it, though, Lucas hadn't seen Dan for months. Ever since Dan's heart transplant he had been trying to stay out of people's lives. Lucas wasn't exactly sure _why_ Dan was doing this, but he wasn't complaining.

Pulling up to his driveway a few minutes later, he collected all the bags and walked up to the house. Brooke wasn't home—she was out shopping with Rachel—and so he put all of the stuff away by himself.

He was just about to settle down and try to write something when his phone rang.

He smiled as he recognized the caller. "Hey, Mom."

"Luke!" Karen said, her voice sounding excited. "I just got your message. So? Am I having a grandson or a granddaughter?"

Lucas grinned. He'd called his mother yesterday and left a message informing her of his and Brooke's most recent doctor's appointment, but had conveniently left out the sex of the baby, wanting to tell her that in person.

"It looks like you'll be having a grand_daughter_."

He heard her shriek over the phone and laughed. "Geez, Ma, could you be any louder?"

"Sorry," she said, composing herself, "but this is such a huge deal. You're having a daughter, Lucas. In just a few short months, you'll be a father to a beautiful little girl and it's just…it's incredible to think about. My little boy is having his own little girl."

Lucas smiled softly. "Yeah…it _is_ kind of weird."

"Yes, it really is. I still can't believe I'm going to be a grandmother. You're making me feel so old."

"Nah, you're not old at all. People will probably think _you're_ the mother when they see you with her."

"You get points for trying to be flattering, but you and I both know that's not true."

"No, _you're_ the only one who thinks that. I'm sure everyone else would agree with me."

He heard his mom laugh over the line. "Okay, okay, we can argue about this all night and we still wouldn't get anywhere. Let's move on to a different subject. How's Brooke?"

"She's great," Lucas said, his smile widening as he thought of the girl he loved so much.

"Have you two talked about names?"

"Not much, but now that we know what we're having we'll probably be talking names nonstop until she gets here."

"And how are _you_? Are you happy about everything?"

"I'm amazing, Mom. Really, I couldn't be happier. Brooke just makes me feel so complete and I couldn't be more happy that we're having a girl."

"I'm glad, Luke," Karen said. "You both deserve to be happy after all this time."

"Yeah…" He drifted off for a second, remembering his encounter with Dan earlier. "I ran into Dan today," he said, turning the subject around completely.

"Oh," his mother's slightly surprised voice said. "How'd it go?"

"It was kind of weird. He congratulated me about the baby and then I kind of told him he doesn't have a chance of being involved in her life. And then I just left."

There was a moment of silence on her part before she replied. "Do you think that might have been a bit harsh?"

He sighed. "Maybe…I don't know. He wasn't personally attacking me or anyone else for that matter, but it's just, after everything…You understand, right?"

"Of course I do," Karen replied. "And I agree with you one hundred percent. But he's still your father and, even though I don't think he deserves to be a part of your daughter's life, you shouldn't cut him off completely."

"Oh don't worry about that," Lucas said, his voice bitter. "Until Dan Scott is dead and buried, there's no way anyone can cut him out of their lives completely."

Karen laughed softly. "You're probably right. But I wouldn't dwell on Dan for too long, Lucas. It will just stress you out."

"Don't worry, I won't."

His mother paused. "So, is Brooke around? I have some exciting news and I was hoping to get you both on the line to tell you together."

Lucas sat up, his interest piqued. "No, she's out shopping. What's going on?"

"Well," Karen said, "Andy and I have both decided that it's time we move back home."

"Really?" he said, grinning at his mother's words. "That's great! When will you be back?"

"Actually, we'll be home in a couple of weeks. We enrolled Lily in kindergarten and we want to be back in time for the school year."

"It's going to be great having you all home. Brooke's going to be so excited, too."

"I know," Karen said. "I can't wait to see you both. Besides, you've only got a few more months until the baby's here and there's no way I'm going to miss the birth of my first grandchild."

"That _would_ be a crime."

He heard his mother's sweet laugh over the line. "It definitely would. Listen, Luke, I've gotta go, but I'll talk to you soon and give you all the details about our return, okay?"

"Sure. Love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Luke."

He smiled as he hung up the phone and leaned against the couch happily. His mom was finally coming home, bringing his little sister and Andy along with her. Brooke absolutely adored Lily and Lucas hadn't been able to spend proper time with her in forever. And now he could finally be her big brother again. It was strange to think that his almost five year old sister would be an aunt in four months, and Lily was probably reveling in the fact.

But he couldn't wait to see them again and, as he picked his computer back up and started working, he found himself thinking that two weeks couldn't come fast enough.

**A/N: **I hadn't intended on getting this next chapter up so quickly but I guess my Saturday wasn't as busy as I thought it would be and I had a ton of time to write. I hope you liked this chapter. Even though I finished it yesterday, I didn't have a lot of time to look over it so hopefully it doesn't suck _too_ much. _Anywho_, I love Millie and I thought it was about time she got a little time in this story. And Dan's back too, although he won't be staying long at all.

And it's a girl! I'd planned on it being a girl for awhile now. I don't, on the other hand, have any idea of what I'm going to have them name her, so please feel free to leave suggestions in your reviews! And to **Lena**, the twins thing is a good idea—I hadn't even considered twins for some reason—but unfortunately it's too late to change my mind. It's a good suggestion for future fics, though, so thanks!

As usual, thanks so much for reading and please remember to review!


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

Two weeks passed faster than he thought it could and today he and Brooke would be picking up his mother, sister, and Andy at the docks down town, where they would be finally returning from their sailing expedition. Brooke had originally insisted on throwing a huge welcome home party for them but, after the planning had proven to be overwhelming on her part, both Lucas and his mother had insisted she take it easy and call it off. Instead, after they picked up his family at around five that evening, they would be taking them to their house to show them around, and shortly after Lucas would bring them home, so they could properly settle back into their old life.

Now, as he waited impatiently for Brooke to finally declare that she was ready to leave, he found himself sitting on the couch, glancing through his latest pieces of writings. He had not gotten much done when it came to the new book he was supposed to be writing, but he did have a few outlines and ideas of what he wanted to do and, no matter how much he desired to keep his and Brooke's relationship as private as possible, he knew that their story was too good to pass up.

He wanted the story to be real, but at the same time there were certain aspects of their relationship that he wanted to keep just between him and her, like his night with her at Rachel's cabin, when he let her completely into his heart. That night had been just for them and, although it showed just how much he loved her and needed her in his life, it wasn't something he wanted the public to know about them.

What he was sure _would_ make it into the book would be things like the night when he first met her— when he found her half-naked in the backseat of his car— or his night with Rachel during the boy draft, as well as Brooke's eighty-two letters written to him. He would never let his readers know what the letters specifically said—that was between only him and Brooke—but he would definitely let them know about that. It was romantic and it was true and was one of the many types things that he knew most people loved to read about.

Other than that, he didn't really have a huge idea of _how_ the story would go. He didn't know if he should start it from the beginning and work his way into the present or make the book about the main, most important, events that occurred between them and that led to where they are now.

Just as he finished adding a few extra things onto his outline, Brooke bolted down the stairs, her face lit up in excitement.

He smiled. "Are you _finally_ ready to go?"

She didn't say anything; instead she just sat next to him, a huge smile on her face, and reached for his hand, placing it quickly on her belly. His face scrunched up in confusion as he wondered what she was doing. Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask her just that, he knew exactly what she was doing—what was happening.

Against his palm, a small, barely noticeable, thump resounded. His mouth twisted into a smile and he looked in amazement up at Brooke, who was waiting with an expectant smile to see his reaction

"She kicked?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

Brooke nodded excitedly. "Yeah. I was upstairs getting ready and then I just felt it and I had to show you before she stopped."

His hand remained rooted in the same spot, waiting hopefully to feel his child kick again. She reached for his hand, placing it a few inches from where it was and for the second time he felt it. He smiled again, his eyes flicking from her stomach to her face and then back again.

"This is amazing," he said, lost completely as he felt another, much stronger, kick.

"I know," Brooke agreed.

It really was amazing for him to finally understand a little bit of what Brooke was feeling everyday and to know that it was his child in there, alive and strong, was even more incredible. He could have sat there all night, just waiting and reveling in this indescribable feeling, but the ring of his cell phone tore him back into reality and he reluctantly turned away to grab it.

"Hi, Mom. So you're finally back in cell phone range?" he said, moving his free hand back to Brooke's belly. Brooke's hand fell over his own as she looked attentively at him.

"Yeah, we're only a mile off the coast. We should be there in about twenty minutes."

"Oh, wow," Lucas said, not realizing just how late he and Brooke were, "okay, then. We'll see you in twenty minutes then."

As he hung up, Brooke practically leapt off the couch and ran towards the stairs. He watched her with a frown on his face, not ready to have his hand leave their child just yet.

"Let me go get my purse and then we'll leave," she called back to him.

He chuckled lightly. "Okay, but _don't_ take your time."

* * *

Brooke stood nervously on the docks, Lucas smiling contently as he leaned against the wooden railings with ease. She wasn't even sure _why_ she was so nervous. It's not like seeing Karen should make her feel this way, but at the same time she knew that the last time they saw each other things had been so different. Lucas had been about to marry another woman and Brooke had thought that she and Lucas were in the past, nothing more.

But things had changed more so than she could have ever imagined.

And it was a good thing, there was no doubt about that, but it was also a strange thing. Brooke was pretty sure that when Karen last left Tree Hill, she was _not_ expecting to come home again a year later to her once again engaged son and to his different, very pregnant, fiancée.

It wasn't like Brooke hadn't talked to Karen since she was last in Tree Hill, because she had; she actually talked to her soon-to-be mother-in-law at least once a week lately, many times more than that. But actually seeing her again was the nerve-wracking part. She knew that Karen was excited and happy for them—she had even given Keith's engagement ring to Lucas to give to Brooke—but it was just the fact that this woman was going to be her _mother-in-law_ that sort of freaked her out. Actually, now that Brooke _really_ thought about it, that was really kind of an amazing thing. Karen Roe had always been the mother she'd always wanted and now it was just going to be official.

The thought eased her nerves away completely. Brooke cracked a smile and, as Lucas wrapped an arm around her, his hand resting once again on her belly where their child was kicking away, she grinned confidently at him.

A couple minutes later she spotted the large white sailboat making its way through the crowds of boats in the harbor and towards them. Lucas walked towards the edge of the docks, with her following closely behind.

She watched intently as the boat came closer and closer and smiled when she noticed Lily appear suddenly at the bow of the boat. The little girl waved excitedly as she noticed them too. Brooke had always loved Lily, although she hadn't gotten to spend nearly as much time as she would have liked with her. Between leaving after high school and moving to New York, she had really only gotten to hang out with her during her brief visits to Tree Hill. But, although her visits had been short, she was pretty sure that, just like she had with Jamie, she had left quite an impression on Lucas' little sister.

"Lucas!" Lily called, fiddling in excitement as the boat neared the dock. Karen appeared behind her, putting a hand on the little girl's shoulder and beaming at them both.

Lucas greeted them at the side of the dock, pulling the rope that Andy had thrown down to him and tying it securely to the dock. Lily came running to the side of the boat, her arms flailing out expectantly for Lucas to help her out. Brooke grinned as his arms wrapped around his little sister and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Hey, Lily," he said, smiling as he held her in his arms. "Miss me?"

"I missed you a ton!" Lily said. "Did you miss me?"

Lucas grinned, setting her down on the ground and kneeling to look at her. "I missed you like crazy, little sis."

Brooke smiled down at them, amazed at how great Lucas was with her.

"Hi, Brooke!" Lily said suddenly. Lucas stood and Lily looked up at Brooke, her eyes growing wide as she registered Brooke's bulging belly.

"Hi, Lily," Brooke replied, smiling sweetly down at her.

"Wow," Lily said, "you're fa—."

"Lucas, Brooke!" a familiar voice interrupted, and Brooke held back a laugh. She turned to see Karen hopping off the boat, with Andy following behind, carrying a few suitcases. She pulled Lucas into a huge hug.

"My boy," she said, beaming at him, "it's so great to see you again."

"I missed you, Mom," he said sweetly

"I missed you too."

Karen grinned and then her eyes focused on Brooke. The smile never left her face as she looked her over. She shook her head incredulously before pulling Brooke into a tight embrace.

"Oh, look at you," Karen murmured as she pulled away. She shook her head again, her eyes resting on Brooke's protruding stomach. "You look absolutely amazing."

"Thanks," she said a bit shyly, her hands resting on her stomach. "It's great to have you back, Karen. Tree Hill isn't the same without you."

"I'm just glad to be home," Karen said.

Brooke just smiled and then they all walked down the dock and towards the car. Lucas and Andy, who carried most of the luggage, trailed slightly behind, while Lily, who was attempting to pull a huge suit case, handed it over to her big brother and simply walked along side him, cheerfully rambling about their time away.

"So, how have you been feeling?" Karen asked.

"Really great," she replied, focusing her attention back on Lucas' mother.

"Nothing out of the ordinary ever since you ended bed rest?"

Brooke shook her head. "Everything has gone according to plan since then. Actually," she said, unable to hide her grin, "the baby kicked today for the first time."

Karen smiled, raising an eyebrow. "That's amazing, Brooke! You'll have to show me later."

"Definitely," Brooke said. As they reached the car, she opened the trunk. Lucas, Andy, and Lily had now reached them and started piling the luggage in the trunk. With that all settled, they all got into the car and drove towards Lucas and Brooke's house.

"I'm looking forward to seeing your house, Brooke," Karen said. Brooke was sitting in the back with her and Lily, while Lucas and Andy sat in front, chatting quietly about their trip. "I still can't believe I didn't see it the last time I was here."

"It's pretty great, but sometimes it feels a bit cramped."

"Have you thought of getting something bigger?"

Truthfully, she _had _been thinking that they should look into a bigger house, but right now things seemed to be okay. They were only adding one more person to the house and, considering it had three bedrooms, she figured that they'd be okay for another few years. But that didn't mean that if the option didn't come up for a bigger, much better house, she would immediately reject it.

"We've talked about it a little, but we'll probably wait a little bit longer. I'm actually kind of attached to the place now. It's pretty gorgeous."

Just as Brooke said this, Lucas pulled up to their house. Karen eyes widened and Brooke knew that she was already enthralled by her little beach house. It _was_ pretty nice, after all.

"Hey Lily," Brooke said as they all got out of the car and walked up to the house, "what would you say if I told there's a _porch_ on the roof of this house."

Lily's eyes perked up. "On your _roof_? Cool… But how do you get up there?"

"I'll show you," Brooke said, smiling as she took the younger girls hand. She nodded to Karen and Andy and then winked at Lucas. "Come on, I'll give you the tour."

* * *

There was really no way for Peyton to properly describe just how happy she was. Sitting here in Jake's new apartment, leaning against him on his couch with Jenny squished in between them, made her more content than she had ever been. It was just so easy to be with them and not in the way that it had been easy with Lucas—it just felt like this was the way it was meant to be and that she was finally with the right person.

She wasn't actually _with_ Jake, technically. Not yet anyway. They wanted to take things slowly and she was happy for that. It made everything more worth it in the end and, more than anything, it let them know that what they had was real, that they wouldn't be hurting anyone this time.

"Looks like she's ready for bed," Jake mentioned, grinning down at his daughter, whose sleeping head rested in Peyton's lap. Peyton ran a hand threw the younger girl's soft brown hair, smiling softly. Jake stood up, clicking the TV off, and gently pulled Jenny into his arms. He cracked a smile as he motioned for Peyton to follow him to Jenny's room.

"Uh," he groaned as he set her down on her bed, "she's getting way too big for me to carry."

Peyton chuckled softly, watching as he silently tucked her into her bed. Placing a small kiss on Jenny's forehead, he backed up towards Peyton, putting an arm around her waist and gently pulling her out of Jenny's room.

"You gonna head to bed?" Jake asked as they padded down the short hallway and back into the living room.

Peyton smirked. "It's only nine o'clock, Jake."

He chuckled, sitting down on the couch and lounging his legs on top of the coffee cable. "Peyton, in parent world nine o'clock is when just about every mom and dad hits the floor in exhaustion. I thought you'd have learned that by now."

"I didn't get the memo, sorry," she said, grinning as she sat down next to him. "You know, I think the last time I went to bed at nine was sometime in eighth grade."

"Actually," he said matter-of-factly, "I specifically remember going to bed at around nine back in junior year when Jenny and I were staying at your house."

Her eyebrows crumpled in confusion as she marveled at his memory. "Really?"

Jake smiled softly, his eyes focusing intently on her face. "Yeah. I remember because it was our fourth night at your house and you weren't really used to having a crying baby around so after four nights of it you just kind of dropped from exhaustion. It was a Saturday night and I just remember thinking that you had to be the most amazing girl in the world, giving up your weekend to hang out with a single dad running from the law and his baby."

She looked at him in awe, a small smile gracing her face, as she, too, remembered that night. It was weird to think of just how much had happened since then and how, even after five years of not seeing each other, they could end up right here in this moment, together.

"I loved being with you and Jenny," Peyton said softly, her hand finding his. "And I still do. I'm so amazingly grateful that we found each other again. These past few years I feel like I've been lost but now, with you, I've found my way again. I've found where I belong and it's with you, Jake. You and Jenny."

He looked at her intently, his eyes never leaving hers, and his fingers stroked her hand gently.

"I love you, Peyton," he said, his hand moving to the side of her face. Her heart practically leapt at his words and she found herself taking a deep, but happy, breath.

"I love you, too, Jake."

He smiled, caressing her cheek, and moved his other hand to her back, pulling her closer to him. His face was only inches from hers and she suddenly realized that this was the closest she had been to him in five years. It just proved even more to her that this was right—Jake was the guy for her. He always had been.

"I never stopped loving you," he said, his forehead leaning against hers. "And I don't I ever will. It's just not possible."

She choked up at his words, feeling tears spring to her eyes, and then his lips were on hers and he was kissing her for the first time in five years and, as her tears mixed with his, she remembered something Lucas had said to her on the night he had broken up with her months ago.

"_But I want __you__," she whispered, crying into his shoulder. "I only want you. There is no one else for me."_

"_There is, though, Peyton. And he's going to love you unconditionally and make you so unbelievably happy. And you're going to love him the same way. Someday you'll look back at us and wonder how your love for me could have ever compared to the way you feel about him…."_

She hadn't believed him then; she just couldn't understand how after all those years of pining after him, they weren't going to end up together. But know she understood. She understood more than ever.

Because, as Jake eased slowly away from her, a crooked smile on his face, she knew that the man Lucas had described that night – the one that would love her unconditionally and forever—was sitting right in front of her. The way she felt about Lucas couldn't compare to how she felt about Jake. He was the one for her, the one who she would spend the rest of her life with. There were no more doubts for her.

"What does this mean for us?" Peyton said, breaking the silence that had formed.

"I think it means that, even though we should still try to take things as slowly as we can, we should be together."

Peyton's hand stroked his back lightly as she nodded slowly. "I want you to know that I won't hurt you, Jake. I won't ever leave you again."

He smiled, kissing her forehead softly. "That's good because I'm not planning on ever letting you go."

* * *

Lucas looked around his old house, a familiar feeling of nostalgia flowing through his body. It was weird to be here again, with his sister in the living room, prancing around in the new clothes Brooke had given her, and his mother making a pot of coffee for them in the kitchen. And, as he sat at the kitchen table across from Brooke, he found himself thinking that it was almost like old times.

"So," his mother said, setting a cup of coffee in front of him, "have you two set a wedding date yet?"

He looked over at Brooke, who took a cup of decaf coffee from Karen gratefully, and smiled. This was one topic Brooke had been flip flopping over for awhile now. She had originally wanted a spring wedding, but she wasn't sure if she was going to be, in her words, "skinny enough" by then. He had just laughed at that. Their baby was due in January and he honestly wouldn't be surprised if she dropped the baby weight the moment their baby was born. He didn't really care either way, though. She would be beautiful no matter what. The problem was that Brooke didn't exactly agree.

Brooke sighed, looking at him pointedly, and took a sip of her coffee. "Yes, we have definitely discussed it."

"I'm personally partial to May 20th," Lucas said, grinning at Brooke.

"Mmm," Karen said, sitting next to him, "May's a great month. Plus, that'll give you a good three or four months to get used to being parents."

"Yes, but don't you thing _July_ is even better?" Brooke protested.

Lucas didn't even think it was worth it to argue. Instead he just laughed lightly, looking over at his mother with a smile before focusing on Brooke again.

"I'm honestly fine with any date, as long as it's within the next year. I just can't wait to make you my wife."

Brooke smiled softly at him, her hand reaching across the table and finding his. "Are you trying to get on my good side, Broody?"

"That depends— is it working?"

She cocked an eyebrow. "A little."

"Why don't you two just settle for June instead?" Karen suggested.

"I think that sounds like an excellent idea," Lucas said, looking at Brooke from the corner of his eye.

"I won't object to that," she said simply. "But I still think we should wait a little while longer before we set things in stone."

Lucas shrugged. "Like I said, anything's fine with me."

As Brooke and his mother continued on to the subject of all things babies, his mind drifted off. It was good to have his family home again. He'd missed his mom and Lily like crazy, and Andy had become a great friend as well. He knew that Brooke was happy too. Karen was the mother Victoria never could be and having Karen here, especially now, was a big boost for her.

But really, what it all came down to was that Tree Hill just wasn't the same without Karen Roe and, now that she was back, his life was more complete than ever.

**A/N: **Okay…I really don't like this chapter for some reason. Don't ask me why it's just so…I don't even know… It's just not one of my favorites and I feel like it could be _much_ better, but I really hope you all disagree because I don't want you all to be disappointed.

Moving on, I have to say that last Monday's episode of OTH _almost_ killed my faith in BL ever reuniting in the show.... Although I _did_ turn the TV off after the first twenty minutes, so maybe I don't have the right to judge…But anyway, I've since had my faith completely boosted again, mostly after reading a bunch of positive BL takes on the episode at a bunch of different forums. If you need to boost your faith, I advise you to check out places like OTHforums, where I lurk but never really post, or fan forum and check out some of the stuff in the Brucas section. Some threads there are pretty encouraging and I know that they gave me the faith I needed to continue on watching the show.

And to **Denise:** I really am honored that my fic could give you back your love for BL fan fics! It's amazing to hear that, it really is. And thanks for pointing out that mistake about Lily—I spaced out on that and I completely forgot about her. So I fixed it up a little and now she's mentioned. Thanks so much for reviewing!

To everyone else, thanks so much for reading and please remember to review!


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

Brooke was tired.

The past few weeks had been stressful on her part, much to Lucas' annoyance, mostly because one of her employees at the store had gotten another job and had quit on her. This wasn't a huge deal, but it did mean that Brooke needed to spend more time at the store until she hired someone else.

So here she was, at eight in the evening, ready to drop in exhaustion. She was just about to call it a night when Rachel made her way through the front doors. She was wearing a short black dress that Brooke had never seen her wear before and, as she strolled casually through the store, Brooke thought that she looked a lot more made up than she normally did when she went club hopping.

"You like nice," Brooke said as Rachel reached the counter.

The red head smiled. "Thanks."

"Going somewhere?"

"Josh and I are going to a concert—."

"Wait," Brooke interrupted, wanting to make sure she had the whole scoop before she jumped to any sort of conclusion, "stop there. Are you just going with Josh or you going with all the guys?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Just Josh. Anyway, as I was saying, Josh asked me to go with him to this concert thingy and, since I didn't really have anything to do tonight since Peyton is with Jake and you're stuck here, I figured I'd go."

Brooke kinked an eyebrow. "So, you're going on a _date_ with Josh?"

"If you want to call it a date then fine, I won't object," Rachel replied, shrugging lightly.

Brooke really wasn't expecting Rachel to admit it, so she was caught off guard as Rachel continued talking about her rand Josh's plans and how she hoped Peyton would come home tonight because she wouldn't be surprised if she brought Josh came back to their place tonight.

"Wait, wait, wait," Brooks interrupted again, "are you genuinely interested in Josh or are you just looking for a one night stand?"

"Josh is hot," Rachel said simply, "but he's also a really cool guy. I've gotten to know him really well and I wouldn't do that sort of thing to him. I'm not really that girl anymore, anyway—you know the slutty irresponsible type who picks up a different guy every night. That girl has been gone for awhile now."

Brooke softened at her words. "I know, Rach, and I agree that you're really not that girl anymore. Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think you and Josh would make a great couple. We can call you Jachel or Rosh. Or maybe Jochel. I think I like that one the best."

"Ha, funny," Rachel said, rolling her eyes once again. "Anyway, I actually came over here to check up on you, since Lucas said you've been working your ass off lately."

"Lucas asked you to come?"

"No, but being the _amazing_ friend I am, I decided to check up on you of my own free will because I was worried about all the hours you've been putting in here lately. You know it's not good for the baby."

Brooke chuckled, not at all convinced. "So Lucas _did _send you."

Rachel just laughed. "Okay, fine. Yes, he did, but I was happy to come down. He said that he's been annoying you lately with his constant hovering, so he figured if I checked up on you I could knock some sense into you."

Lucas definitely _had_ been annoying her lately, she couldn't deny that. But it wasn't her fault she was short on workers and needed to help out a few hours longer than normal. He was overreacting as usual. But she still loved him for it. After all, it always had been Lucas Scott's job to brood and worry over pretty much everyone in his life; she didn't call him Broody for nothing.

"Alright," Rachel continued, "now that I've done my job I should probably get going."

"I'll put in a good word for you when I see Lucas," Brooke called out as Rachel headed to the door.

Rachel waved airily. "Thanks!"

It really was sweet of Lucas to look after her and their baby, she knew that, but every now and then it just got too much. The past few days had been one of those times. Nathan had even showed up yesterday before a basketball tryout to see how she was doing and she knew it was definitely Lucas' doing. But at the end of the day, she really did appreciate it. She just would never admit it to Lucas.

She finished counting the money and sighed happily. She could finally go home. But soon another familiar face peeked through the door.

Brooke smiled. "Sorry, ma'am, but we're closed."

"Oh, really. And what if I said I knew the owner?"

"Mmm, well _maybe_ I could make an exception." She grinned as Haley pushed through the doors, walking to meet her at the front desk. "So, did Lucas send you here to check up on me too?"

Haley looked at her curiously. "No. Why, did he send somebody else?"

"Actually he sent Rachel today and Nathan yesterday. And then of course he sent himself all times in between."

"Well," Haley said, laughing lightly, "Lucas did _not_ send me. But if it makes you feel any better I _was_ supposed to pop in tomorrow."

"Hmm, that's really not a surprise. Anyway, what brings you here at this time of night? Shouldn't you be spending time with tutor-husband and son?"

Haley just grinned and took a deep breath. "Actually, I kind of have some huge news and I felt like I needed to tell you."

Her curiosity was peeked to the limit. "What's going on?" she asked eagerly.

Haley paused, a small smile covering her face as she looked at Brooke with an excited expression. "I'm pregnant."

Brooke nearly burst in excitement. "Oh my God, Haley, that's great! Does Nathan know?"

She nodded. "I told him last night. He's so happy, Brooke. I mean, it wasn't planned but I really think he's been wanting another baby for awhile now."

Brooke was pretty sure her own smile was bigger than Haley's but it didn't matter because she was just too happy for her and Nathan. They deserved this more than anyone.

"I also think you'll be happy to know that you were the second to know, behind Nathan of course."

"And I was the first to know with Jamie. Looks like I went done a level, but that's okay. I think I can forgive Nathan since he _is_ the dad. But, Haley, this is so exciting! We get to be pregnant together… Well, for three months, at least. But still, this is going to be great."

Haley laughed. "I knew you'd think that."

"Do you know how far along you are?"

"Just about eight weeks."

Brooke clapped her hands together. "Oh, I bet Jamie's going to be so excited."

"I hope so," Haley said. "He'll probably be a little overwhelmed if it's a girl, though, what with all of the women suddenly entering his life. I mean we've got Lily now, and Jenny and your new baby, and if we add another girl to that group… well, let's just say Jamie will _need_ basketball in his life or else he'll be drowning in a sea of estrogen."

"He'll be happy no matter what," Brooke said, laughing as she and Haley left the store. "This is great, though, Hales. It really is."

* * *

When Brooke got home, she was no longer tired. Instead she was brimming with the excitement that came with Haley's news and, even though she had been annoyed with Lucas earlier, her frustration had also disappeared.

"Hey, boyfriend," Brooke said cheerfully, as she sat next to Lucas on the couch. He was—once again—on his lap top, probably working on his newest story. She placed a kiss on his cheek and he smiled pointedly at her.

"You're home late."

"I know. But guess what?"

His smile loosened into a more playful one and he rested his hand on her belly. "What?"

"Haley's pregnant!"

He looked mildly surprised. "Really? When did she figure this out?"

"Yesterday. But apparently only Nathan and I know. And you now, I guess. But she told me I could tell you so it's okay."

"My best friend is having another baby and I'm the _third_ to know?" He shook his head in mock offense. "Ridiculous."

Brooke smiled, playfully swatting his arm. He chuckled and pulled her face back to his, placing a soft kiss on her lips. She grinned against him, twisting her body so that she was straddling his lap. Her stomach pressed against his body and his arms wrapped around her.

"I missed you today," he said, his forehead leaning against hers.

"I missed you too. I'm sorry that I've been working so much lately. It won't be like this for much longer."

He sighed gently as her head dug into the crook of his neck and his hands ran up and down her back soothingly, her hands resting contently on his chest. She relaxed and soon her eyes were closing against her will. The tiredness from earlier was definitely back.

"It's okay," he said softly. "But I was thinking that you should take the day off tomorrow, since it _is_ a Saturday. We could spend the day together, you know _catching _up, and then I can take you out to some fancy restaurant and treat my girl to the best food in town. It's been forever since we've been on a real date and I think it's time we went on one."

"Mmm, that sounds like an excellent idea," Brooke murmured.

She and Lucas really did need some quality time together, especially before the baby came, and she knew that she needed to take a break from work too. And tomorrow would be a great time to do just that.

She felt his arms loosen around her as he pulled away slightly. He dipped his head down to her belly, kissing it lightly.

"How's baby Emma doing?"

Her eyes flew open in surprise and she pushed his body away from her.

"_Emma_?" she said incredulously. "Did you name our kid without consulting me?

He smiled, shrugging as he leaned back against the couch. "I was just throwing it out there. You know we haven't really talked about names much and the clock is ticking."

She kinked an eyebrow. "I don't like Emma. It's too popular."

"I think it's pretty."

"It is, but like I said, too popular."

He grinned as she twisted around and lay down on the couch, her feet resting on his lap. "Okay then care to give any of your own suggestions?"

She pursed her lips together thoughtfully. "How about Avery?" He made a weird face and she glared at him. "I think that's an adorable name."

"And I don't. It's sounds like some sort of spice."

She kicked his leg and he groaned, putting his hands of her feet and giving her a warning look. "Fine. Alyssa?"

"_Definitely_ not," she said, frowning as she remembered her rival from middle school, a blonde cheerleader named Alyssa who had moved away before high school but who she had hated with a passion. She could never like that name when it was associated with her, even almost ten years later. It was petty, but she felt that it was definitely justified.

"How about Bella?" he continued. "I've always thought that was a beautiful name."

"Everyone would associate her with _Twilight_, so that's a no."

He rolled his eyes, but didn't push her. "Alright. What about Alexis?"

She thought for a moment. "Hmm, not bad, but still really popular. I want our baby's name to be more unique, but also a little old fashioned at the same time. Like Marie or Julia."

"Yeah, I'm not liking either of those."

She groaned. "Why can't we agree on _one_ name?"

"Well, in our defense we've only suggested a few so far."

She sighed, trying to remember the huge list of names she used to love when she was younger. They all seemed to have faded from her mind, which was extremely annoying considering she could actually _use _them now.

"Charlotte?" Lucas suggested.

"No, no," she muttered in frustration.

"Madison?"

"No."

"Alexandra?"

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Elise?"

For some reason that name brought forth another in her mind and she suddenly had the absolute _perfect_ name—first and middle. And if Lucas didn't like it she would strangle him.

"I've got it!" she said, sitting up excitedly.

He raised an eyebrow and looked at her curiously. "What?"

"Elizabeth," she said, "Elizabeth Haley, after Peyton and Haley respectively. And we can call her Lizzie for short. Lizzie Scott."

Sure it wasn't the most creative name in the world, and Elizabeth _was_ a relatively popular name, but it would be nice to pay respect to two of the most important people in her life; not to mention the fact that she had finally realized that Lizzie had been one of her favorite names as a teenager.

She waited for Lucas' reaction. He looked thoughtful as he took it in, but she saw a smile grace his face.

"I like it. Elizabeth Haley Scott. It's really nice. And I like Lizzie, too. It'll be a nice nickname."

"So we agree?"

He grinned. "I think we do."

She let out an excited squeal and he laughed, pulling her body back to him and wrapping his arms around her. He smiled as he placed a hand on her belly.

"Well, that was a big deal," she said, resting her head against his chest. Her hands played with his fingers and she took a long, content breath.

"Yeah, it was," he agreed. And then he got a devious grin on her face. "Although I can't _wait_ to see how Rachel reacts when she finds out we're not naming the baby after her."

Brooke just laughed at that.

* * *

Lucas and Brooke strolled along the riverwalk, his hand holding lightly onto hers. They had just finished dinner and had decided to walk it off and get some ice cream for dessert. She was craving it, but that what she always told Lucas. Pregnant or not, Brooke Davis _always_ wanted ice cream.

He smiled contently, happy to just be walking in a peaceful silence with her by his side. The sun had set a few minutes ago and the stars were now out, shining brightly in the clear sky and illuminating the lightly lit boardwalk. It was a beautiful night, made even more beautiful by the sound of the river rushing into the ocean behind them. It was nice. The perfect setting for a date with the perfect woman.

They arrived at her favorite ice cream place and he placed a gentle kiss on her brow before nodding over to the benches.

"Go sit over there," he said softly, "and I'll get your ice cream."

"Okay, but I want—."

"Double scoop, blackberry. I got it."

She'd never liked blackberry ice cream before her pregnancy—in fact, she'd hated it—but now it was her favorite and she was at the point where she was having it almost every day.

She smiled, kissing his lips lightly. "Thanks, boyfriend."

"You're very welcome, Pretty Girl."

He walked into the crowded ice cream shop and stood in line, watching her from the window as she sat at the empty bench and pulled out her cell phone. He couldn't help but smile; she looked so beautiful, especially with the backdrop of the river behind her, the bright moon reflecting on the dark water making her look like nothing short of an angel.

But soon, as more customers came in, his view of her was lost and so instead he focused on figuring out what flavor he wanted.

* * *

Brooke glanced at her phone, sending a quick text back to Rachel, who had been texting her constantly ever since this morning. Apparently her date last night had gone great, but Rachel was worrying over whether she was getting too attached. Brooke had spent the day trying to stress that they had been on _one_ date and that there was no need to worry. Rachel wasn't very convinced—she was under the impression that she was way too young to be tied down to one guy, despite the fact that all of her friends all seemed to be either dating seriously, engaged, or married . But that didn't faze Rachel. She wanted to be different and she didn't have that desire to settle down and get married. Somehow, though, Brooke had a feeling that would all be changing very soon.

"Brooke?"

She looked up from her phone in surprise, her eyes widening as she saw someone she hadn't seen in almost a year.

"Chase!" she said excitedly, standing up and immediately pulling him into a hug. Chase laughed, smiling a bit awkwardly down at her as he pulled away. He seemed a bit surprised as he looked down at her protruding stomach and she wondered if Owen had told him that she was having a baby.

"Long time, no see," he said, smiling sweetly. "I can see a lot has changed since I was last here. I guess congratulations are in order, huh?"

She grinned. "Yeah, I guess so. It's great to see you, Chase." She sat back down motioning towards the bench next to her, and patted it. He sat down next to her. "So you didn't know about this?" she asked curiously, her hand resting on her belly. "I thought Owen would have told you or that you at least would have seen it in a magazine somewhere."

Chase's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "No, he didn't tell me and I'm not really into gossip magazines." He looked over his shoulder, apparently looking for something, and she followed his gaze. Her eyes landed on a dark figure who stood hesitantly a few feet away, looking at them both with heavy eyes.

"There you are," Chase said, waving Owen over. "See, man, I told you it was her,"

Owen nodded shortly, taking a few steps forward. "Brooke."

She felt herself stiffen lightly, not exactly happy to see Owen, especially with Lucas ready to return any minute. She'd told Lucas what had happened with him and she didn't want Owen _or_ Lucas to start anything. Chase looked at them both in confusion, obviously not understanding the tension between the two of them.

"So, um," he said uncomfortably, trying to break the silence that had formed, "Brooke, who's the lucky guy?" He motioned towards her belly and the ring on her finger.

She smiled, loosening up a little, although she knew that any mention of Lucas wouldn't please Owen. "Actually, he's right over there." She pointed towards Lucas, who was now making his way over to them with the ice cream. A look of confusion crossed his face as he spotted both Chase and Owen.

She took a deep breath; this was definitely going to be interesting.

* * *

He really wasn't expecting to see two of Brooke's ex-boyfriends standing outside with her when he was finished buying their ice cream. He'd been gone all of five minutes and somehow Chase and Owen had ended up appearing out of thin air during that time. He sighed at the timing— what a way to end their date.

Chase was a good guy and Lucas honestly liked him, but Owen…he was a different story. The good thing was he knew that Owen wouldn't do anything stupid, at least if their talk at the bar over a month ago meant anything. He just hoped Owen would keep his promise.

Owen was standing stiffly a few feet away from the other two, his hands in his pockets and his jaw clenched. Lucas' eyes narrowed slightly, but he continued over to Brooke, focusing his attention back on her and putting on a happy face.

"Hey, Chase," he said, smiling sincerely as he handed Brooke her ice cream. She thanked him quietly, watching nervously as Lucas stood a bit awkwardly in front of them. "It's good to see you."

Chase nodded, a big smile forming on his face. "It's good to see you too, Lucas. Congratulations on the baby."

Lucas couldn't help the silly grin that formed at the mention of his and Brooke's baby. This happened a lot lately and he was still getting used to it.

"Thanks," Lucas said. Deciding that he should at least acknowledge the brawny bartender, he turned to look at him. "Owen," he said, nodding.

Owen nodded back, his face blank. "Lucas."

Lucas' eyes moved back to Brooke and Chase, who sat on the bench. Brooke twisted her hands nervously in her lap, biting her lip as looked back in forth between him and Owen. Chase just looked confused.

"So, we should probably get going," Chase said, sensing everyone's discomfort, "but it was great seeing you both."

Chase stood up and Lucas noticed the immediate relief that washed over Owen; he suddenly looked a lot more relaxed as his shoulders slumped and his body loosened.

"How long are you in town?" Brooke asked, standing up with him.

"Only a couple days," Chase said. "I'm down here on business."

"Feel free to stop by my place if you have time," Brooke said. "I'd love to hang out if you can."

Chase nodded. "Sure, Brooke. Thanks for the offer." He turned to look back at Owen and nodded. "Alright, we'll catch you later." He smiled at Lucas and then the two of them disappeared down the boardwalk.

Lucas stood there for a second, sort of amused at what just happened, and then finally took a lick of his ice cream. When he looked up from his cone, he found Brooke looking at him with a bewildered expression.

He just laughed. "That was fun."

She didn't look amused. "Owen looked like he wanted to strangle you," she said, horrified. "I'm surprised one of you didn't try to start something."

Lucas shrugged. "Nah, I wouldn't have done anything like that and I don't think he would have either."

"You know, I'd understand if you wanted to punch him." Her voice was teasing, but at the same time serious. "He deserves it."

"No," Lucas said, taking her hand in his and leading her back down the boardwalk and towards their car, "I don't think he does. He's just sad that he's missed out on a girl as great as you, and I understand that completely. Any guy would be pissed to lose a chance with Brooke Davis."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right."

He turned his head, his eyes meeting hers as he smiled softly. "I _am_ right. Do you know how lucky I am to have a girl like you? Because I really don't deserve you."

They stopped and her hand went to his face, cupping it gently. "That's not true, Luke. You never give yourself enough credit."

His face leaned into her hand, but he still looked at her seriously. "I'm giving myself all the credit I need. Thank you for loving me, Brooke, because the truth is, I don't deserve it."

She just shook her head, obviously disagreeing with him, but she knew him well enough not to argue. Instead she brought her lips to his, kissing him slowly. Her lips lingered there for a moment and his eyes penetrated into hers.

"There's no one else I would rather have," she said simply. "It's you. It's _always_ been you. I love you, Lucas Scott, and that's the way it will always be."

**A/N: **Hello my lovely readers! I hope all of you Americans out there had an excellent Thanksgiving! Sorry this chapter took a little longer than usual. It's extra busy this time of year where I work and I haven't had a lot of time off to write. Okay, brace yourselves because you're in for another _long_ author's note…

First off, and I think this is kind of important— there's a new poll up on Buddy Tv for the all-time best couple on OTH. I know that there are a lot of polls similar to this, but I've heard a lot of people say that this is one of those polls that Mark will most likely see, since Buddy Tv interviews him from time to time. So, with that said, I urge you all to vote for Brucas (lol I sound like this is some presidential campaign). Seriously, though, it probably won't do much for us, but at least it might let Mark understand that Leyton aren't as popular is he thinks. Maybe it'll open his eyes more about bringing back BL or at _least _a better friendship between the two…you never know. But still, it'll take a few seconds and it's a pretty fun poll. Brucas are in the lead the last time I checked, second to Naley, but they're super close. Leyton are _far_ behind. This poll may not be completely accurate because you can vote all you want, but I think it's worth it. The link to it is in my profile so go vote!!!

Next, I'd like to thank **tanya2byour21**for the name suggestion. I always liked the idea of Lucas and Brooke naming one of their kids after both Peyton and Haley, so that name was just too perfect _not_ to use. So thanks Tanya! If I could give you a prize I would, but instead I'll just give you a virtual pat on the back. Hope that's good enough :D.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please remember to leave a review! As of right now we're at 432 and that's kind of amazing, so thanks and please keep up the great work! ;)


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

Lucas was still getting used to being in school and not actually being _in_ school.

As he walked the hallways of his former high school, he felt piles of memory overthrow his mind—some good, some bad, but all representing four of the most pivotal years of his life. Only five years ago he was a student here, but now he was back again, coaching the basketball team he had once played on and even teaching now and then when they needed a substitute for PE.

It was a strange thing, but it was also a good thing. This was where he was supposed to be.

He soon found himself poking his head through a familiar door.

"Well, look who it is," Haley said, lifting her head from the papers she was grading as she noticed him at the door. "My best friend has finally decided to grace me with his presence."

Lucas smirked, walking over to meet her. "Hello, Hales." He leaned against a desk. "You're looking beautiful today... Almost _glowing_."

Haley just laughed. "Hmm, you're never going to let it go that you were _third_ to know that I was pregnant, are you? That's a very high position, Luke. You should be proud."

"Yeah," Lucas teased, "but you were the second to know with my kid, before _me _even. I just think I should have been one spot higher, that's all. And maybe _you_ should have told me instead of Brooke. I feel abandoned, Haley. I don't even know my best friend anymore."

"Okay, okay," Haley said, rolling her eyes dramatically, "we are _so_ not getting into this."

Lucas smiled, crossing his arms. "You know I'm kidding. So how's the grading going?"

"Good," Haley said, glancing through her papers again, "but I've got to get this pile done before sixth period so _you_ can't stay too much longer or I'll never get them done. Besides, I've still got to eat my lunch."

Lucas pretended to look offended. "Well then, I can see when I'm not wanted."

"Oh, shut up, Lucas, you know I love you." She took a bite of the sandwich that was sitting on her desk. "So how's basketball planning going?"

"It's going pretty well. We've got another couple weeks until tryouts, so there's a lot of preparing for that."

"Hmm, that's good," Haley replied thoughtfully. "So, I heard some interesting news this morning."

"Yeah? What about?"

"Apparently Mr. Rivers—you remember him, he's the music teacher here—is retiring after this semester. He's been having some serious health issues and he really needs some rest. It's sad because he was a great teacher, but it also means we'll be needing a new one."

Lucas was confused. "Okay…so why are you telling me this exactly?"

Haley gave him a look that clearly told him he was incompetent and he just shrugged. "_Jake_, Luke. Jake is teaching music right now at a middle school in Raleigh, but he's been wanting a job down here. He hasn't been able to find any, but Peyton told me he hasn't given up."

Now he understood. "So you want Jake to take this job?" She nodded and he smiled. "Well I think that's a great idea. Peyton will be thrilled."

"I know," Haley said. "I actually already told her earlier this morning. She's going to call Jake and make sure he gets an interview. I really think he's a shoo in for the job—he's young, he used to be a student here, not to mention the fact that he really knows his stuff. He's just a perfect candidate."

"Plus, we can all put in a good word for him," Lucas added.

Haley nodded. "Exactly. See, there's really no way he _won't_ get it. I'm also going to talk to Principal Turner today and throw Jake's name out there."

"Wow," Lucas said, "we're really taking over this school, aren't we? I mean, you're teaching here, Skills, Nathan, and I are coaching, and now Jake could be teaching here too. All we need is Brooke to teach some sort of designing class and Peyton to teach art and we'll be good."

Haley laughed. "Hmm, somehow I can't imagine Brooke _or_ Peyton teaching. But nice thought, Luke."

He grinned, stuffing his hands into his pockets and standing up to leave. "Well, I'll leave you to grade your papers."

"Hmm, thanks. And you have fun with my son tonight. No staying up late or ice cream for dinner, though."

Lucas laughed, looking forward to his night with Jamie. He and Brooke were taking him for the night so Nathan and Haley could have a little date night. It would definitely be interesting, especially since Jamie was constantly claiming he was low on his "Brooke Time", as he called it.

"We'll see," he said, raising an eyebrow. "I'll see you later, Hales. Have a fun night with Nathan."

"Oh, I _definitely_ will."

"Didn't need to hear that!" he called as he strolled out of the classroom.

He heard her loud reply as walked back down the hallway. "You brought it on yourself!"

* * *

"Hey, Rach!"

Brooke cheerfully entered Clothes Over Bros, slipping her purse off of her shoulder and meeting her friend at the cash register.

"Oh, no, no, no," Rachel said, shaking her finger at her.

"What?" Brooke asked, her smile widening into what she hoped was an innocent expression.

"You know _what_," Rachel said disapprovingly. "You're supposed to be at home right now, sleeping in until it's practically dark out and relishing your day off."

Brooke sighed. It had been pointless coming here. She _knew _that Rachel would disapprove no matter what and would send her home right away. But she couldn't help the fact that she had woken up at 9:00 and had been unable to fall back asleep. It was a habit she could break— not to mention the fact that Lizzie Scott didn't apparently allow her mother to sleep in— and now, nearly three hours later, she had found she couldn't sit idly at home by herself any longer.

"Rachel," she pouted, "it's impossible to sleep in when I've got a baby punching out my rib cage and practically sitting on my bladder. Do you know how many times I went to the bathroom last night? I can't even count it on one hand. So there's really no way for me to sleep until dark, let alone until ten or eleven. It's impossible. And you know I get bored easily. I can't just sit around doing nothing all day."

As she finished her mini rant, she waited for a reaction from Rachel. She didn't look at all convinced.

"Brooke, go home," she said simply. "Or go to the mall or the school or whatever, but you can't be here. I promised Lucas I wouldn't let you come in today and to be honest you're annoying me. So be gone before I push you out of here myself."

Brooke glared at her friend, but knew it was no use arguing any further. So she slid her purse back on her shoulder, a small defiant smirk on her face, and twisted around to leave. She was half way to the door when Rachel called back to her.

"Brooke, wait!"

Kinking an eyebrow, Brooke turned around again, looking at Rachel questionably.

"What?"

Rachel looked oddly alarmed, her face flushed with sudden nervousness. "I…uh…have to tell you something?"

It came out as a question and Brooke was finding this situation more peculiar by the minute. Rachel looked at her with a wide smile, trying her best to act normal but failing miserably. Something was going on—Rachel was hiding something.

"What's going on?" Brooke asked suspiciously.

Rachel shook her head quickly, the forced smile never leaving her face. "Nothing. Why do you ask?"

Brooke's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Fine. Then what do you have to tell me?"

Rachel looked down at the desk, her fingers drumming against it anxiously. "Um, well…" She looked up again, her eyes concentrating on something other than Brooke. "Damn it. Just go away."

Brooke sighed. "Okay, I have no idea what's going on with you, but I don't really care. I'm going to the mall. See you later."

She was about to turn around when Rachel interrupted her once again.

"Brooke, you might want to wait a few more minutes."

Rachel's eyes were once again focused on something else and this time Brooke followed her gaze. Her eyes landed on the source of Rachel's problem almost immediately. Across the street, leaning casually against her car, Owen appeared to be waiting for her. Brooke wasn't really sure _why_ he would want to talk to her now, but she was assuming it had to be about a few weeks ago, when they ran into each other during her date with Lucas.

She rolled her eyes. "It's just Owen, Rachel. I can deal with him."

"I know," Rachel said, "but I didn't think you would want to. I can send him away if you want."

Brooke waved her off, looking back at Owen. "No, it's probably good he wants to talk. Maybe he's just wants to apologize."

Rachel didn't seem to agree, but she just shrugged. "Fine, do whatever you want. But Lucas probably won't be happy that you willingly went to talk to him. You know the word he likes to use all the time lately—starts with an s, ends with an s. I think you know what I mean. But hey, you do what you want. I won't try to stop you."

"Lucas won't care," Brooke said, and she really didn't think he would, unless Owen tried something. But Owen had been keeping his distance ever since that day at her house and she had a feeling that if he wanted to see her now, he must mean no harm. He may not have been the best guy, but she doubted he would pull another act like he did a few months ago. But if he did, she wasn't sure she would be able to keep Lucas from doing something to Owen this time.

"I can't ignore Owen much longer, Rachel," Brooke continued. "We go to Tric all the time and he's friends with Nathan through slamball and he's also best friends with Chase, who I'm still friends with. So it doesn't work to be estranged like this because, like it or not, he's a part of all of our lives right now. So if he's ready to talk, then so am I."

"Like I said, I won't stop you."

Brooke nodded and then turned around. She hoped that this time she could actually make it out of the store without another interruption from Rachel. Luckily, she did.

Owen looked up at her with a small smile on his face as he noticed her crossing the street.

"You could've just come into the store," she said, walking up to him.

He looked down at his shoes, nodding slowly. "Sorry," he said, "I just still had some thinking to do. Plus, Rachel's in there and I don't think she likes me very much, despite the fact that I saved her life." He said the last bit with his trademark cocky smile.

Brooke smiled and leaned next to him against the hood of her car. "So…what's up?"

He sighed, running a hand through his short dark hair, before looking intently at her.

"I, uh, had a…_interesting_ talk with Chase when he was here and he got me thinking…" He trailed off and Brooke waited curiously for him to continue. "He saw how uncomfortable everything was with us and he asked me why and so I told him. Then, after I asked what was so great about Lucas, he told me about you and Lucas and that you dated in high school…I never knew that. How come you didn't tell me?"

During the time that she and Owen had dated—if you could even call it that—she had made sure to not mention her past with Lucas for two reasons. One, it never came up, and two, it was still painful to think about. So, as a result, Owen obviously never knew of the relationship she had never been able to move on from.

"It's complicated," Brooke answered honestly. "A lot happened in high school and I don't like thinking about it when I don't have to. Or at least I _didn't_ like thinking about it back when you and I had our thing. Now, it's different. Because looking back it was all worth it in the end."

He nodded. "Chase didn't tell me much since he wasn't there when you two actually dated. All he could really tell me was that he was pretty much a rebound for you and that he broke up with you because you couldn't move on from Lucas."

She sighed, thinking back to the few months after high school when she and Chase had broken up. They'd been seeing each other long distance and she hadn't been trying very hard to make it work. The final straw had been when he'd walked into her room in LA and seen her looking an old picture of her and Lucas. He'd been good about it—he'd just said that he couldn't be with her if she couldn't give him her whole heart and she didn't fight. She just let him go, knowing that it just wasn't possible to do that.

"Lucas was my first love," Brooke said, breaking the silence that had formed. "He broke my heart too many times to mention and I broke his, too. We went through a lot together. He was the first guy I ever really gave my whole heart to. Actually, he was the _only_ guy I ever gave my whole heart to. I gave everything to him. And then it all fell a part. I gave him up to Peyton because I'd always thought that if Peyton wanted Lucas than she'd eventually get him because what Peyton wants, Peyton gets. So I decided to save myself some heartbreak and let him go before that happened." She laughed humorlessly to herself. "That didn't really work at all. In fact, I think it just killed me more."

She took a deep breath. It was hard to remember all of these things again, things that she'd tried to keep out of her mind for so long. And it was strange that she was telling this to Owen of all people, but at the same time it was good to get this out. She _needed_ to get this out. Because this was her and Lucas—this was their history. And it would always be a part of their life. But the great thing now was that it all _mattered_. All the pain and heartbreak had been worth it. The past five years had been tough on her, but they had provided closure for Lucas and Peyton, closure that they were in fact _not_ meant to be, and it gave Brooke and Lucas another chance at the love they had shared. And she didn't regret that one bit.

Concentrating on Owen again, she continued. "The thing was, I never got my whole heart back when I broke up with Lucas. And that means that it's pretty much impossible to move on when he's got the other half. I've been a broken woman these past five years, Owen, but I'm whole again. Lucas is mine again and I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life."

Owen looked at her intently, an understanding smile forming on his lips. "I never really understood why you would want to be with him, but I never knew your past. And now that I know, I feel like an ass. I'm really sorry for everything, Brooke."

"You're not an ass, Owen," she said, smiling too. "You're actually a pretty good guy. And apology accepted. I appreciate that you've been looking out for me. You're a good friend."

"Actually I'm kind of a horrible friend. A good friend would be there for you no matter what. But hey, I'll work on it. I never took "how to be a good friend class" in high school, so I'm kind of behind."

Brooke laughed. "I think you'll be okay. Don't beat yourself up over it. Anyway, I'm just glad you and Lucas were able to keep it civil the other night. You looked a bit…tense."

"Yeah," Owen said, chuckling lightly, "I _was_ a little on edge. But I promised Lucas I wouldn't do anything. He said you've had some problems with the pregnancy and can't be too stressed. What happened with that anyway?"

Her eyes narrowed in confusion. "Wait, you talked to Lucas?"

Owen shuffled nervously. "He didn't tell you?"

"No." She tried to think of a reason why Lucas wouldn't have mentioned this to her. The she remembered the s word again: stress. Of course, typical Lucas. "When was this?" she asked curiously.

"The day after I talked to you at your house a few months ago," he replied. "He came to see me at Tric and asked me to stay away if all I was going to bring was stress into your life…Um, maybe you should talk about this with him. I don't want to cause any trouble."

"Oh, don't worry, you won't. He's obsessed with making my life as stress free as possible, which is probably why he neglected to mention your meeting."

Owen nodded. "Makes sense. So what exactly happened?" he asked again.

She took a long breath, smiling lightly. Taking his arm, she pulled him over to the sidewalk. "It's kind of a super long story. Come on; let's go get some lunch and I'll tell you about it."

* * *

When Lucas walked into his house later that afternoon, Jamie was practically bouncing off the walls, running through the house with Lily at his heals, and knocking over anything that was in his path. Brooke was standing in the middle of the living room with a wary expression, trying as best as she could to get them to calm down. Unfortunately for her, it didn't seem to be working.

Lucas quickly intervened, scooping up both his little sister and nephew in his arms and smiling as they tried to wiggle out of his grasp. Brooke sighed in relief.

"Lucas!" Jamie and Lily both yelled in excitement.

"Inside voices," Brooke squeaked out, taking a seat at the kitchen counter.

"Alright," he said sternly, setting them down on the floor, "let's keep it nice and quiet for Brooke, okay? How about you pull out the Wii and play something, eh?"

"I don't like the Wii," Lily protested, but Jamie rushed over to turn it on. "Jamie never lets me be first player."

"Well, he will today, won't you, Jamie?"

"No."

Lucas looked at him pointedly. "You remember what I told you about always putting woman first?" From the kitchen, he distinctly heard a loud snort come from Brooke.

Jamie sighed, but handed the first player controller over to Lily, who squealed in excitement. Lucas just smiled, moving over to sit next to Brooke at the counter and putting an arm around her shoulders.

She relaxed against him. "Thanks, Luke. I swear I am _never_ getting them a double scoop again. They've been absolutely insane ever since I picked them up from school."

Lucas laughed. "So, Mom must have convinced you to take Lily off her hands for the afternoon, huh? That kid has been extra hyper ever since she got back. I think being cooped up on a small boat must have done that to her. She and Jamie together are like…"

"An explosion," Brooke finished. "Yeah, they're super hyper. But it's okay, I love hanging out with them. And since _you_ saved the day, as always, I don't think it will get too bad again."

Lucas trailed his hand along the bare skin of her arm. "How was your day?"

"Actually, it was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. Guess who I had lunch with?"

"Who?" he asked curiously.

She smiled lightly. "Owen."

That was definitely something he was not expecting to hear. He looked her over, trying to see if she seemed any more stressed or annoyed than usual, but, other than the relief on her face that came from Jamie and Lily finally calming down, she looked quite normal.

"Oh…" he murmured. "What happened?"

"He was finally ready to come to terms with everything, I guess. He came to the store to see me and apologize."

"Really?" Lucas said, unable to hide his surprise. A few weeks ago when they had bumped into Owen and Chase, Owen certainly hadn't seemed even close to coming to terms.

"Yeah, I was kind of surprised too. You know, he never knew about me and you dating in high school. I guess he thought we were a new couple or something like that. He never knew how huge a part of my life you were. So when Chase told him that you and I dated, he was surprised. And after I explained some of our history to him, he knew that he had overreacted. He feels really bad now. And by the way, he told me about your little meeting at Tric."

He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, but I just figured it was best I didn't mention it. I hope you don't mind..."

"It was sweet, Luke," she said, squeezing his hand lightly.

Lucas nodded slowly. "So you had lunch with him?" he asked, not really knowing what else to say.

"Yeah, we had a lot of catching up to do."

He wasn't sure he liked that idea—Owen and Brooke having lunch together, _catching_ up. It didn't sit well with him. Brooke and Owen's fight had caused a rift between the two of them and that hadn't bothered Lucas at all. In fact, it made him happy that he wouldn't have to be worried about Owen trying anything with her. But now that they were apparently friends again…that was different. It wasn't like it was with Chase—he and Brooke were good friends but he hadn't had any romantic interest in her for a long time now. But Owen still liked Brooke. He'd made that painfully obvious. And that annoyed Lucas. A _lot_.

"What's wrong with you?" Brooke asked, noticing his discomfort.

"I just don't know how I feel about you having lunch together," he answered honestly.

"It was just one lunch, Lucas, and he's just a friend."

"But hehas _feelings _for you, Brooke."

She had caught on to the meaning behind his words and her eyes filled up with amusement. "You're _so_ jealous, aren't you?" she said, a small amount of surprise in her voice.

"No, of course not. Owen's no threat to me."

She laughed. "Just admit it—you're jealous."

He shook his head defiantly. "I'm _not_ jealous."

"It's okay to be, Luke" she prodded. "It's completely normal. And, if I'm being honest, I actually _like_ seeing your jealous side. It's kind of cute."

He smirked at the suggestiveness in her voice, giving up his denial quicker than he would have liked. "Fine. I'm jealous." She clapped her hands together happily and he cocked an eyebrow. "You're a very strange girl Brooke Davis-soon-to-be-Scott.

Brooke grinned, kissing his cheek lightly. "I know. But you don't have to worry at all about Owen. He knows he's just a friend and he won't do anything stupid again. Plus, from all the questions he asked about Rachel at lunch today, I'm pretty sure he's into her now too."

"He _does_ know she's dating Josh, right?"

"Yeah," Brooke admitted, "but I don't know if that'll stop him from trying to go after her."

"Because another love triangle is just what Tree Hill needs," Lucas said, shaking his head in amusement.

Brooke laughed and her eyes trailed over to watching Jamie and Lily playing bowling on Wii Sports. Lucas' arm tightened around her shoulders and he placed a gentle hand on her belly. They watched them both silently, Brooke's head falling onto his shoulder.

"So," she said, after a few minutes of silence, "what would you say if I told you I've got a date with Owen tomorrow night?"

Lucas just rolled his eyes.

**A/N: **For some reason, I've been feeling some pity for Owen lately, so I decided now was the time to redeem him. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thanks so much for reading and please remember to review!

Oh, and by the way, Brucas won that poll I mentioned last chapter!! Take that LPers!!! lol…


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

Basketball was now back in session and for Lucas, this was one of his favorite times of the year. The second day of try outs had gone great and now, as Lucas played on the River Court, he found himself reveling in the one thing that he had always loved.

He didn't come here much anymore— mostly because he didn't have the time, but also because he couldn't play like he used to. But today had been a very long day and he had needed a bit of a break from the chaos that had seemed to be going on at home lately.

Thanks to his mother, Brooke was in full wedding planning mode. She'd already started making plans for her dress, which she would be making, and also the bride's maid dress, which she also wanted to design. They'd also started looking into where they wanted to have the ceremony, caterers, flowers, and all the other works. Thankfully, unlike with Lindsay and Peyton, Brooke had insisted that _she_ pick out his tuxedo and he hadn't argued. That had been one of the things he hadn't been looking forward to. The wedding was still over eight months away and he thought it was a little unnecessary to get all this stuff done now, but both Brooke and his mom had insisted that it wasn't.

So now here he was, escaping the million questions from both Brooke and Karen, shooting hoops like old times. It felt good.

That is, until he heard the sound of an engine pulling up to the River Court and saw the familiar car parked a little ways away. His eyes narrowed in annoyance.

Dan stepped out of his car, smiling at Lucas as he made his way over to him. It was pointless for Lucas to ignore his father now, so he simply nodded in acknowledgment.

"How are you, Lucas?" Dan asked, his tone pleasurable.

Lucas sighed. "I'm fine. What are you doing here?"

"I saw you playing from the road and thought I'd stop by. Have you been playing a lot lately?"

He shrugged. "Not really. I've just been coaching mostly."

"How's that going?"

Dan had always been a lover of small talk, avoiding the real issue until he was forced to get into it. Lucas knew he was doing that right now.

"The season just started, so there's nothing to tell."

Dan nodded slowly. "I'm sure with you and Nathan coaching, they'll have a great year."

Lucas nodded, bending his knees with his eyes on the hoop, and made the shot effortlessly. "Yup…"

"So," Dan said, and now Lucas could hear determination in his voice; he was finally getting to the point, "when's my newest grandchild coming into the world? It's a girl right? She hasn't been born yet has she?"

Of course Dan would ask about his child. He had always wanted to be apart of Jamie's life, but after his and Lucas' last conversation, Lucas thought he made it pretty clear he wouldn't be involved with his own daughter's life.

Still, giving him a little information would probably sooth his curiosity for a little while and so he decided to give him just a little bit.

"Yeah, it's a girl. And no, she's not here yet. Brooke's got about six weeks left."

"Getting down to the wire," Dan said conversationally. "Are you worried?"

His eyes narrowed. "Worried? About what?"

"Becoming a father is a pretty huge deal, Lucas. It's normal to be anxious about it."

"I'm not really worried at all," Lucas answered honestly, making another shot. And he really wasn't that worried. Being a father had been something he had wanted for a long time now and as the time grew closer and closer to when he would actually get to be one, he only grew more excited. Except for the possibility of his daughter having HCM, anxiety hadn't been an issue so far.

Dan smiled. "Really? Wow, you're one of those rare few. I remember with Nathan I was a nervous wreck."

"That's really not that surprising," Lucas muttered darkly.

Dan just chuckled. "I guess not. But becoming a father…it's a huge deal. With Nathan, I knew that I wanted to be the best dad I could be. I wanted to be his friend, someone he could look up to. Mostly I didn't want to be like my own father. I guess things didn't go the way I wanted, huh? Both my sons hate me now."

Lucas' throat tightened a little as he listened to Dan speak. Had he really wanted to be the best father he could be? It didn't seem like he had ever been a good father, although Nathan had told Lucas a few stories from his childhood that had made Dan seem decent. But the fact that Dan had been worried about being a bad father when he was younger scared Lucas. Because if Dan had actually cared, then what if Lucas turned out the same way?

But there was no way that could happen, was there? For one, Lucas was pretty sure he wouldn't be murdering his brother any time in the future and he was also a lot more prepared for this than Dan. Unlike Dan, he wasn't giving up his dreams to be a father; he was _living_ his dream. He was great with Jamie and Lily, too. How could he _not_ be a good father? But Dan's words echoed in his mind and he wondered if maybe he was jumping ahead of himself. Maybe he wouldn't be a great as father as he thought…

That thought scared him more than anything.

He concentrated on the basketball hoop again, preparing to make another shot. He missed.

"Nice try," Dan said cheerfully, grabbing the ball and making a shot of his own. "Bend down a little deeper next time."

Lucas just stood there, ignoring Dan's commentary, his mind reeling in all different directions. The thought of him turning out even remotely similar to Dan made him cringe.

"It was good talking to you, Lucas," Dan said when Lucas didn't say anything else. "Good luck with everything."

With those words, Dan Scott was gone and in his wake he had left a very confused, very _anxious_ Lucas Scott.

* * *

Her patience was thinning minute by minute as Peyton waited for Jake to walk through the familiar doors. She was standing in front of her old high school and he was inside, getting interviewed by her old principal. She wasn't sure why she so nervous—Haley had told her over and over again that Jake was almost guaranteed the job— but she just knew that this was a huge deal. If he got the job he would be moving home and if he moved home they could finally start _really_ moving forward in their relationship.

A lot was at stake here for them both.

It wasn't like it would be the end of the world if he didn't get it; they had done the long distance thing just fine for awhile. But she hated being away from home so much and he hated that she had to travel constantly. It would just be so much easier if he were here.

That was why she had insisted on coming with him to his interview. She needed to know what would be happening as soon as possible. And now, over an hour after he walked into the school, the doors opened wide and he walked casually out.

Her excitement peaked as she walked over to meet him. His expression was practically unreadable. This only worsened her nerves.

"So?"

He cracked a smile. "I got it."

Peyton wasn't one to squeal in happiness—that was Brooke's job—but she made an exception for Jake. She threw her arms around him and he laughed at her actions.

"Wow, I wonder what you would have done if I _hadn't_ gotten the job."

She smiled, placing a kiss on his nose. "I'm so happy, Jake. You're finally coming home, after all these years."

"This is where I'm supposed to be, Peyton— in Tree Hill, with you."

The smile that covered Peyton's face only widened as he kissed her gently. "So when do you start?" she asked as she pulled away. He took her hand, leading her to his car.

"The beginning of February. I've got to finish the semester in Raleigh, so I'll probably be moving around the end of January. It looks like you'll have to wait just a little bit longer for me to come home."

She groaned dramatically. "Three months? I don't think I can make it that long."

He laughed. "You'll be fine. In the mean time, I'll just have to make as many visits as possible and you'll do the same."

"You bet I will. I can't imagine my life without you in it anymore, Jake. I just _need_ you now."

He smiled sweetly at her, his arm wrapping around her shoulders. "I feel the same way."

* * *

It was dark by the time Lucas returned home. His mother's car was no longer parked outside his house so he hoped that things had calmed down a bit since he had left.

His talk with Dan was still fresh on his mind and fear gnawed at his mind. If there was one thing Lucas had decided in high school, it was that he never wanted to turn out like his father. It hadn't seemed possible. But apparently Dan had thought the same thing and Royal Scott wasn't even half as bad as Dan was.

He wondered if Dan was saying things on purpose— trying to mess with his mind. It wouldn't be unlike him to do that. But it didn't really matter now because, like it or not, he was now acutely aware that he could very well be a horrible father someday.

But this was something Nathan had worried about when Haley had been pregnant with Jamie too and so far everything had turned out well. Maybe Lucas was just stressing himself when he thought that there was even a remote chance he would end up like Dan…Maybe it was all in his head. Because when he thought about it, yes, he had a jerk of a father, but the actual man who had raised him, also a Scott although not his father, had been an amazing man. Keith was the dad he never had and Lucas knew that this was the man he wanted to take after…That he _did_ take after. That thought made him feel a little better.

He took a deep breath, his anxiety calming down, as he stood at the front door. He heard Brooke's laughter come from the other side and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Wasn't his mother gone? He opened the door wearily.

His eyes narrowed at the sight in front of him: Owen was sitting on the couch across from Brooke, talking animatedly about something while she just laughed at his words.

After his stressful day, this was _not_ what Lucas needed.

His jaw clenched together as she shut the door, slamming it a little harder than necessary. Owen stopped mid-sentence, his smile faltering as he noticed Lucas' presence. He smiled hesitantly, but Lucas' mouth was frozen in a thin, straight line.

"Hi, honey," Brooke said cheerfully, turning around to look at him. The happy smile she wore quickly turned into a frown as she noticed his upset expression.

"What's wrong, Luke?" she asked, standing up quickly. Owen stood up with her, pulling the coat that had been sitting on his lap back over his shoulders.

"I'm gonna get going. It was good talking with you, Brooke." He walked past Lucas and nodded. "See you, man."

Lucas didn't say anything and his eyes never left Brooke's as Owen disappeared out of the house.

Brooke just looked confused. "What's wrong?" she asked again.

He didn't answer for a few seconds as he wondered if he should tell her what was _really_ bugging him. Truthfully it was a mixture of things, mostly Dan, but also Owen. The bartender had been on good terms with Brooke in the two weeks since he had apologized and he seemed to be keen on gaining Brooke's friendship back, much to Lucas' annoyance.

"Why do you insist on being friends with him?" he finally asked, walking over to the couches and sitting down tiredly.

Brooke watched him observantly, sitting next to him and putting her hand on his thigh. His head fell to the back of the coach and he closed his eyes.

"Luke," she said softly, "I thought you wanted us to be friends."

"When did I say that?" he asked in annoyance.

She paused. "Then you would rather he still hate you and be on bad terms with me?"

He opened his eyes, looking at her seriously. "To be honest, yeah. At least then he wasn't obsessed with you."

"Lucas, he isn't obsessed with me."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah? Then why did you two go out for coffee the yesterday and why was he over here tonight? And that was just this week. _Last _week, you two had lunch together. It's only been two weeks since you two have made up and I already feel like he's slowly trying to mess up our lives."

Her eyes narrowed and he could tell he was confusing her. On a normal occasion, he'd give up right away, always avoiding the possibility of a fight and the stress it brings, but tonight he was on edge. Tonight he had had enough.

"He invited me out yesterday and I had nothing else to do and tonight he was returning the jacket I'd left in his car. And the lunch last week was when we talked about everything. You know there's nothing going on there, Lucas. Why would you even feel the need to worry?"

"There's nothing going on your side, Brooke, but you _know_ there is on his."

She sighed frustratingly. "Maybe there is, but you know that he doesn't stand a chance against you. I love _you_, Lucas, and I don't understand how you could doubt that."

"I never said that I did," he said, running an irritated hand through his hair.

"By feeling the need to get so angry over a little cup of coffee with Owen or his being here tonight, you basically _are_ saying that."

He took a long, deep breath, trying his best to calm down. He knew he was upsetting her and as his more rational side took over his body once again, he felt himself relax slightly. He looked at her, his eyes softening.

"I'm sorry, Brooke. You know I would never doubt your love for me, right? I guess I'm just not used to you hanging out with your exes."

The tension that had overtaken her body loosened, and she smiled softly. "I know, Luke, and I understand. Believe me, I do." She cupped his face with her hand. "Something else is wrong, though. You seem really upset."

He sighed, in no mood to talk about his meeting with Dan. He _would_ talk to her about it soon, but after everything else today, it would have to wait until another day. "Nothing else is wrong, Brooke," he gently assured her. "I've just had a long day and I took it out on you and Owen. I'm sorry."

She didn't look entirely convinced, but didn't prod him any further. "I'm here for you," was all she said, and then she pulled him into a tight hug, her hands running soothingly up and down his back. His body immedietly relaxed against hers.

"I love you," she murmured into his ear.

He smiled softly; right now that was all he needed to hear. "I love you too."

* * *

Brooke sorted through the cash register at her store, trying to find some sort of way to distract her from the millions of thoughts that crowded her mind— most of which were about Lucas. He had acted strange last night and this morning he had seemed sort of distant. It was worrying her.

One of the major things that they had struggled with in high school was Lucas not letting her all the way in, but now things were different—he gave himself to her completely, and she to him. But today and last night he seemed to have pulled away ever so slightly and she had no idea what to think of it.

All she knew was that something was up—something _other_ than his irritation with Owen— and he wasn't telling her, probably because he didn't want to stress her out. But she knew when it came to these sort of things that it was best to wait for Lucas to come out with everything on his own, instead of forcing him to open up. If whatever was going on was really important, he would tell her in his own time. She wouldn't force him to do anything he wasn't ready to.

"Guess who's moving to Tree Hill?"

Glad for the distraction, Brooke looked up from her position at the front desk as her best friend made her way over to her.

"Jake got the job?" Brooke asked excitedly.

Peyton nodded enthusiastically. "Yup! He's going to be moving here at the end of January. Can you believe it?"

Brooke pulled Peyton into a hug, glad that her best friend was happy. "It's great, Peyton, it really is."

"I would've told you last night but he and I had some celebrating to do before he went back home."

"Hmm, I _definitely_ understand," she replied suggestively, kinking an eyebrow.

Peyton just laughed, taking a look around the store, which, except for the two of them, was empty. "So, not too busy around here, eh?"

"Yeah, with school in session there's definitely a decrease of customers. But it's okay; it's nice not having to deal with customers twenty-four seven. They can get kind of annoying after a while."

Before Peyton could respond to that, Brooke's cell phone rang loudly, surprising them both. Looking down at her phone, Brooke groaned as she saw 'Victoria' appear on the screen.

"It's the devil," Brooke announced, setting the phone aside and focusing back on Peyton.

Peyton cocked an eyebrow. "Is it bad that I'm assuming you're talking about your mother?"

"No, because your assumptions are correct."

Peyton looked down at the phone, which was still ringing, expectantly. "And you're not gonna answer it?"

Brooke sighed exasperatedly. "I so don't need the added stress of my mother right now. She can leave a message, although I really doubt I'll get back to her."

"What's up with you?" Peyton asked curiously.

She just shrugged, heaving out another dramatic sigh. "I'm fine."

"You don't sound like it." Peyton leaned against the counter, her eyes bearing into Brooke's. "You can tell me anything, Brooke."

"Something's up with Lucas," she admitted. "Last night he got angry about Owen stopping by and it was just so not…him. I mean, Lucas gets jealous occasionally, but he just seemed really bothered by it. But I don't even think that's what the issue was. I think it's something else that's bothering him and he was taking it all out on Owen."

"Why do you think that?"

"I don't know…he's just not himself and I know that this thing with Owen would never do this to him. It's something else, something he doesn't want to tell me about for whatever reason. Peyton, do you think you could maybe talk to him?"

Peyton looked at her incredulously. "Brooke, seriously?"

She nodded. "I just think he might talk to you about it. He doesn't want to stress me— that's kind of been the focal point of this whole pregnancy— so he'll probably try to keep whatever it is from me until he can't any longer. But he might talk to you about it."

"Brooke…" Peyton looked skeptical. "Lucas and I aren't really close like that anymore. We used to be able to talk about pretty much everything but now, even _before_ we broke off our engagement, it's different. I just don't think I'd be able to get anything out of him."

"Maybe not, but you might be able to convince him to talk to me."

"Maybe…Or maybe there's nothing to talk about? Maybe he really _is_ just annoyed with Owen."

Brooke really doubted that. Actually, she was absolutely _sure_ that there was something he wasn't telling her. And even though she had promised herself she wouldn't pressure him, she couldn't help but want to know.

"Peyton, _please_, will you just talk to him?"

Her best friend sighed, not looking comfortable with idea, but nodded. "I'll try. I can't promise anything, though."

Brooke smiled gratefully. "I know. Thanks, Peyton."

Peyton just nodded, glancing over at Brooke's beeping phone. "Looks like the devil left you a message."

She glared at the phone as if it were the source of all her troubles and reluctantly called her voicemail, putting it on speakerphone.

"Hello, Brooke," her mother's loud voice rang through out the room. Brooke winced at the sound. "I can see you're ignoring me, as usual. I'm calling to let you know that your father and I will be in town tomorrow on business. Yes, I know you're probably cringing at the thought but believe me, there are hundreds of places I'd rather be than in that stuffy town with that dreaded man, but unfortunately it has to be done. Anyway, Richard is insisting on seeing your store so he and I will be dropping by sometime tomorrow afternoon. I will call you when I know what time. Goodbye."

The message ended abruptly and Brooke just sat there, every pore in her body seeping both aggravation and frustration. Dealing with her mother was one thing, but _both_ of her parents? That was hell. It wasn't like her father was the worst person in the world—he was loads better than her mother actually—but he had never really taken much of in interest in Brooke throughout her whole life and therefore she had never really been close to him. But her father and her mother together were guaranteed chaos, especially since the two couldn't stand each other.

"Wow," Peyton said, breaking the silence. "That sucks."

Brooke glared at her. "Gee, thanks for the support, best friend."

Peyton shrugged, laughing a little as she pointed to Brooke's face. "Your eye is twitching!"

"Oh my God, Peyton, this is so not the time for your stupid comments. My parents are _both_ going to be in town tomorrow. Do you know how horrible that's going to be?"

"Oh yeah," Peyton said, "I've met your parents many times and it's not something I like to think back on. They were kind of crazy."

Brooke nodded. "And that was when they were together. Now they're divorced and at each other's throats more than ever."

"Then why are they why are they doing business together?"

"No idea," Brooke replied. She was a little bit curious to find out, though, as much as she hated to admit it.

She moaned, throwing her head in her hands dramatically. "Why, Peyton? Why now of all times do they _both_ have to choose to come to Tree Hill? Do they _want_ to kill me? Do they _want_ to send me into labor two months early?"

Peyton came around the counter, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure they don't want any of that. They probably don't want to be here as much as you don't want them to be. I mean, your mother already admitted that she doesn't. So don't worry, all you have to do is show your dad around the store and then they'll be gone. It'll take ten minutes. And your dad's not as bad as your mom, so it should be okay."

"Yeah, but they're going to be here _together_."

"Okay, but it still won't take that long. Besides, you'll have Lucas, right?"

She lifted her head back up, nodding defiantly. "Definitely. If I'm going down, he's going down with me."

Peyton smirked. "Poor guy."

**A/N: **Two updates in three days! How awesome am I? :D Haha, really though, I've had tons of time to write these past few days, so I put it to good use. I thought that it was about time I dealt with Lucas' insecurities about becoming a dad because let's face it, it's a realistic insecurity that a lot of people go through. I think it's just something that he just needs to deal with in this story. So you'll see some more of that in the coming chapters.

Okay, so good news— my winter break starts next week, so I will have a good amount of time to write. This means that I will be getting a lot of work done on this story and since there's only about seven or eight chapters left in this story, I could be finishing up this story within the next two or three weeks, a month at the most. This may not sound like good news to some of you, but I've got another story that I'm really excited about that I'll be posting after this one is finished, so you can look forward to more stuff from me.

Thanks so much to everyone who's been reviewing. Every single review means so much to me and they actually inspire me to write faster, too. So, with that said, thanks for reading and please review!!!


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

Lucas was supposed to be writing but his mind was too full of the millions of other things going on in his life for him to really get anything done. There was wedding planning, baby planning, basketball tryouts, his new book, Brooke's parents…the list could go on and on.

And then there was his conversation with Dan; this was the thing that weighed most heavily on his mind and that seemed to be draining him little by little. Brooke knew something was up, although she wasn't pressuring him into to talking. For this he was grateful; he just wasn't ready to deal with it yet. Exactly _why_ he wasn't ready to deal with it was a bit of a mystery to him. Maybe it was because he thought if he didn't do anything about it, the fear would just go away, or maybe it was because he was afraid that if he spoke it out loud, it would come true. And then there was the fact that, just like him, Brooke had a million things going on in her life. He didn't want to stress her with her problems… Those really were horrible excuses, now that he thought about it.

Brooke _wanted_ to share in his problems and fears; she _wanted_ him to be honest and free with her, just like she was to him. And for him to not talk about this with her was probably stressing her out more than if he actually did talk to her.

So he made it a point to do so. After her parent's visit later today, he would tell her.

He smiled, looking down at his computer with renewed inspiration and continued to write. He knew that talking to Brooke would help solve everything and there was no doubt in his mind that she would only diminish his fears.

"Hey."

The front door slammed and Lucas looked up from his computer, smiling as a distracted looking Peyton walked over to meet him at the kitchen table.

"Hey, Peyton."

She sat across from him with a sigh and he glanced at her curiously. "Something up?"

She sighed again, this time loud and exaggerated. "Okay," she said, "I'm not gonna lie—Brooke sent me over here to see if I could get you to talk to her about whatever's bothering you. And don't tell me it's Owen because we _all_ know that's not the major issue."

He cocked an eyebrow. "I thought it was _my_ job to send people to look out for _Brooke_, not the other way around."

A small smile graced Peyton's lips and now she looked more amused than annoyed. "I think you're rubbing off on her."

He chuckled softly, but a second later his eyes turned more serious. "Look, Peyton, there's really nothing major going on. It was just something that happened the other day that got me thinking… It's honestly not a huge deal, and if it makes you feel any better I'm going to talk to Brooke about it later today, after her parents come."

Peyton smiled, leaning back in her chair. "Good. And now I've done my job and am free of Brooke's hold."

Lucas was about to respond, but was interrupted by the slamming of the door and an angry screech that could only belong to Brooke Davis. He leapt up instinctively, making his way over to Brooke, who had the one of the biggest scowls he had ever seen on her face. Her eyes were narrowed into tiny slits and her hands were on her hips disapprovingly.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She glared at him, shrugging his hand off. "My parents, _that's _what's wrong. Victoria just called. They're going to be here in twenty minutes."

"Wait, twenty minutes?" he asked. "I thought they were getting here at three?"

"Yeah, so did I, but plans changed." She groaned as she looked down at herself. "I need to change, I can't wear this…"

"Brooke, you look beautiful."

She glared at him again and then frowned. "Lucas, why are you still dressed in that?" she cried, eyeing his clothes, a worn out t-shirt and a simple pair of jeans. "I told you to put on something _nice_, something _Victoria_ approved. Go get changed!"

"I —."

"Go!"

He put his hands up in surrender, trying his best to hide his amused smirk, and quickly moved towards the stairs. If this was a sign of what was to come later today, he wasn't sure he or Brooke would be able to survive the rest of the day.

* * *

"So I'm gonna get going, but call me after…" Peyton trailed off as she looked at her best friend in surprise. "Brooke, are you crying?"

Sure enough, there were tears falling down Brooke's face and Peyton was slightly shocked at the sudden shift in mood. Then again Brooke _was _seven and a half months pregnant, so Peyton easily blamed it on the hormones.

"Peyton," she said helplessly, falling on the couch. "This is _so_ annoying."

Peyton stood there, looking completely baffled, before quickly composing herself and coming to Brooke's side. "I know it is, but it'll be okay. It's really not a huge deal."

"It's a huge deal to me!" she practically screamed.

Peyton blanched back in surprise. "Right," she said very slowly, trying to think of the right thing to say. "I know it's a big deal to you and I know that you want to impress your dad…"

Through her tears, Brooke glared at Peyton. "I _don't_ want to impress him, Peyton."

She backed down immediately. "Of course not, I just meant…" Peyton paused, trying to come up with something comforting to say. But, as Brooke started sprouting tears again, she honestly had no idea what to do. Where was Lucas when you needed him? She put an arm around Brooke's shoulder and Brooke rested her head there, rubbing her belly absently as a few more tears fell down her cheek.

"Look," Peyton began hesitantly, "everything will be okay. I know you're stressed, but Lucas will be there to help you out and if you want, I can come after —."

Brooke's head perked up and Peyton was slightly startled to see her smile. "You'll come? Peyton, that would be amazing!"

"Wait, what?" Peyton's eyes narrowed in confusion; how had Brooke come to that conclusion?

"With you and Lucas there with me, Victoria would never try any of her stupid games with me. She'd probably just ignore everyone instead and try to get out as quick as possible. And plus, my dad never liked you, so he probably wouldn't want to stay long if you were there. Peyton, you're a lifesaver!" Brooke pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you so much!"

"Um…"

She was confused. Had Brooke just gotten her to come with her and Lucas to see her parents? She was pretty sure she had. And, as Lucas came down the stairs and Brooke pushed them all out of the house and into her car, Peyton found herself wondering what the hell just happened.

* * *

After her little meltdown in front of Peyton, Brooke was now back to normal. Yes, she was slightly nervous about the impending arrival of her parents, but at the same time she was prepared. With both Lucas and Peyton here, her mother would most likely behave herself and her father wouldn't be keen on staying around too long. It was perfect.

She smiled over at Peyton, who leaned against the counter in her store with a dazed expression. Lucas stood next to her, looking slightly amused, while Brooke waited impatiently on the other side of the counter for her mother's car to pull up.

"Brooke," Peyton said, finally breaking out of her reverie, and looking at Brooke with newfound confidence, "what am I doing here?"

Brooke looked at her in confusion. "You said you'd come."

"No—." Brooke watched as Lucas sent Peyton a warning stare and Peyton quickly retreated. "Right, but do you _really_ want me here?" she asked softly. "I mean, it's sort of a family thing right?"

"You _are_ family, Peyton," Brooke said cheerfully. Peyton was more family than her own parents, if she was honest with herself, so it was good to have her here supporting her.

Peyton sighed. "Fine. But your parents hate me."

"They don't _hate_ you, they just don't _like_ you. There's a difference. Plus, my mom doesn't like Lucas and I don't think my dad will like Lucas either."

"Wow," Lucas said, pretending to be offended, "way to make us feel loved."

Brooke smiled apologetically. "Sorry, but they don't really like anyone but themselves, and maybe me just a _little_ bit. And, Luke, you remember when you first met my dad. You didn't exactly leave a good first impression."

Lucas winced at her words and she remembered the day he had met her father— back in junior year when they had been dating for the first time. She and Lucas had been in the Brooke's bedroom, making out heavily and moving onto a little something more, when her dad had walked in. Brooke had found it rather ironic that— since she was pretty sure that her dad had been inside her bedroom about three times since she had been born— he chosen that day to parade inside her room like he owned the place. No matter how little he involved himself in Brooke's life, her dad had still taken up the over-protective father side a few times in his life and that day with Lucas had been one of them. Needless to say, her dad had not been very happy with Lucas.

"I think they're here," Peyton said, breaking through her thoughts. She pointed outside to the black Mercedes that had pulled up outside the shop.

"Okay," Brooke said, stepping out from behind the counter and looking at Lucas and Peyton pointedly, "we can do this. Everything will be okay. Just follow my lead."

Lucas seemed to be finding his nerves a little bit as he looked outside anxiously. But, as he took her hand, she felt both him and herself loosen up a little. She looked over at Peyton, who looked like she wanted to throw something, and nodded encouragingly.

The door to the Mercedes opened and out walked her mother. A scowl covered her face as she slammed the door behind her and walked into the store, not even waiting for her ex-husband to join her.

"I hate that man," she said, her teeth clenched together as she walked over to them. "I swear, ever since the divorce he's just been so calm and he never talks and when he's just so…_polite_ and—."

"Bearable?" Brooke finished, her lips twisting into an amused smile. "Gee, Victoria, maybe it's because he's just so happy he doesn't have to be around you all the time anymore."

Victoria cocked an eyebrow, ignoring the comment and seemingly noticing everyone for the first time. She looked over Brooke quickly. "You look…pregnant."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Brooke smiled lightly, placing a hand fondly on her rounded belly. "I'll take that as a compliment, considering I am. So, where's Dad?"

Victoria sighed in annoyance. "He's just finishing up a phone call in the car. He'll be out in a second." She looked over at Lucas and Peyton with narrowed eyes. "Good to see you again, Lucas," she said, a fake smile plastered over her fake face. "And…Peyton." She seemed to struggle to get the word out of her mouth. "I didn't know you would be here."

"Neither did I," Peyton mumbled, trying her best to smile, but not able to manage it.

"Yes, well…" Victoria trailed off, her eyes shifting disapprovingly over the three of them, and looked back outside. "Oh, look, Richard has finally decided to grace us with his presence."

Brooke looked outside and saw her father stepping out of the car. He was wearing his traditional business suit and, except for his slightly grayer hair, he looked the same as he had the last time Brooke saw him. He had the same short hair cut, the same dark thick eyebrows and same airy look that he had always worn when she was younger.

And that was why she was pleasantly surprised when a big smile overtook his face as he stepped into her store. He glanced at Brooke proudly, his smile growing wider as he looked around the shop. Victoria glared at him all the while, but Brooke couldn't help but smile at the sight of him. It had been almost two years since she last saw him and, even though she liked to say that her father meant very little to her, she really did care about him.

"Brooke," Richard said, his eyes landing back on her, "you look absolutely beautiful."

Brooke smiled, trying her best to hide her surprise. "Thanks, Dad."

He surprised her again by pulling her into a hug. It was quick, but it was sincere and that was all that mattered. He looked slightly embarrassed as he pulled back and then looked once again around the store before looking at Peyton and Lucas, who stood silently and awkwardly on either side of Brooke.

"Dad, you remember Peyton," Brooke said, looking over at her best friend. Peyton forced a smile, although this one seemed to come much easier than it did with Victoria.

Richard smiled. "Ah, yes, of course. You and Brooke are still good friends, I see. It's refreshing to see a friendship survive so many years."

Her father was throwing her for a loop, that was for sure. He had never expected to see him so kind and sincere to Peyton of all people. Maybe being married to Victoria Davis really _had_ brought out the worst of him.

Peyton looked surprised too as she nodded slowly. "Yeah, Brooke's like a sister to me. Nothing's changed there."

Brooke smiled, appreciating Peyton's words more than she could know. Then, focusing her attention on Lucas, she took his hand.

"I don't know if you remember him, Dad, but this is Lucas Scott, my fiancé."

Richard looked at Lucas appraisingly and Brooke was reminded of the father she was used to seeing. But Lucas stood firm under his gaze, smiling politely at her father and looking him straight in the eye.

Her father nodded slowly. "Yes, I definitely do remember Lucas." His frown turned into a teasing smile. "Although I'm not sure I like thinking about it." Lucas had the grace to look apologetic while Brooke just smirked. "It's good to see you, Lucas," he added, reaching out his hand for Lucas to shake.

"It's good to see you too, Mr. Davis," Lucas said, shaking it.

Brooke immediately felt the tension ease and relief swept over her body, feeling even better as she felt Lucas' arm wrap around her shoulder. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

"So what exactly are you both doing here?" she asked curiously.

"Well," Victoria began, "your father and I are finally going to sell our old house. It's been under our name for way too long now and it's about time we got rid of it."

Brooke looked at them both in confusion. "I thought you sold the house?"

"No," her father answered, "we just rented it out."

"Anyway," Victoria continued impatiently, "the house is really the last thing that ties me and Richard together, besides you of course," she looked at Brooke wearily, "and so after we get rid of this, there's really no reason for us to deal with each other anymore."

"It will be for the best, I think," Richard said. "It's time we fully moved on from this place, anyway."

"Oh…" Brooke was still getting over the shock of hearing that, after all these years, her parents still owned the house she grew up in. She had had some good times in that house, most of the memories excluding her parents, and so she had been sad to see it go. Once she thought about it, it had been the perfect house to grow up in. It was spacious and in good shape, with a beautiful interior and a big fenced yard and pool outside. It was perfect for a family.

And that was when she got the perfect idea.

"Hey, Dad," she said, a wide smile appearing on her face, "let me show you around and you can tell more about the house…"

* * *

"You want to buy your old house?" Lucas asked and, even though he may have sounded a little surprised, he really wasn't. He knew the moment her parents mentioned selling their old house that she would consider the option of buying it from them.

She nodded, taking a seat on the couch in their living room and lifting her feet onto the coffee table. "This could be a really great deal, Luke," she said. "The price isn't really that high, from what my dad told me, anyway, and it's so big and it's in a great neighborhood and it's perfect for a family. It's really the only place I would consider buying right now."

He sat down next to her, putting a hand on her thigh. "You don't have to convince me, Brooke. I think it's a great idea."

She grinned excitedly. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah, although I think we _should_ look at the place first. You know, see how much it's changed and if it needs any work."

She threw her arms around him and he laughed, letting his hands stroke her back.

"This is so exciting, Luke!" she said as she pulled away.

He grinned. "It is." He played with a stray strand of her hair, twirling it in his fingers. "And hey, you did great today with your parents. Really, I was very proud of you."

She laughed. "You should be proud of my parents. I mean, yeah, my mom was still Victoria, but she kept to herself most of the time and my dad…I don't even know what happened to him. He used to be so stiff and serious and now he just seems happy."

Lucas nodded, agreeing with her. He didn't know her dad very well, but from the very little he did know, he knew that the man they had met today was very different than the man he had met over seven years ago.

"So it's been a surprisingly good day," Brooke said, resting her head against his chest.

"Yeah, it has…"

His hands wandered to her belly, feeling the swift kicks of his child against his palm. Brooke covered his hand with hers and soon his mind drifted off to his conversation with Peyton earlier.

"So," he said, a sly smile on his face, "you sent Peyton over here to check on me earlier, didn't you?"

Brooke tilted her head to look up at him guiltily. "She told you that?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but don't worry, I didn't mind. It's kind of nice having you check up on me every once and awhile instead of the other way around."

She smiled lightly. "Believe me, I agree." She paused and he knew that she wanted to ask him if Peyton got anything out of him. He decided to save her the worry and just come out with it.

"I ran into Dan a couple of days ago," he said. She lifted her head and looked straight at him, her eyes narrowing. "That's what's been on my mind. And he said some things that just got me thinking. I guess you could say he got the best of me."

"What'd he say?" she asked softly.

"He basically said that when he was younger he worried about becoming a father and that he would screw up. He wanted to the best father he could be, apparently. And I guess it worried me because I kept thinking that if a guy as horrible Dan wanted to be a good father, then what about me? I _want_ to be a great father, but what if I end up being horrible…What if I end up like my own father."

Brooke looked at him seriously and cupped the sides of his face with her hands. "Listen to me, Lucas— you are going to be an _amazing _father. You _know _that your dad's an ass. He's trying to rile you up and make you worry over something that you don't need to worry about. And I understand _why_ you're worried, Luke. I worry about being a horrible mother sometimes too, especially since my parents aren't exactly great examples for me. But I have to stay positive and believe that I'm different, that I'm my own person and just because I have the share blood with two incompetent parents doesn't mean I'm going to be one myself."

He knew she was right. He'd been thinking along the same lines as her throughout the last few days, but to hear her say it only relieved him more. Not only that, but she was in a similar position as him, something he seemed to have forgotten until recently— her parents were practically absentees throughout most of her life. She had virtually no example on how to be a parent and yet he had no doubt that she would be the best mother there was.

And then he thought of his own mother, who had been both an example to himself and to Brooke, and of his uncle Keith and he knew that these would be the people he and Brooke would be like. These were their examples. And he knew now that he and Brooke would be alright.

"You're right, Brooke," he said quietly, his forehead leaning against hers. "And I think I've known that for awhile now. I just needed some time to think about it all, without having to worry you too. And I guess I should have known that anything coming from Dan's mouth is almost always meant to torture me."

She smiled softly, stringing her hands through his hair. "Don't ever doubt yourself, Luke. You're an amazing guy with an amazing heart and I know that you want more than anything to be the best father you can. And maybe Dan really did want that, but he made the choice not to be. And I know that you would never make that choice; it's just not the type of guy you are."

"Thanks," he murmured and he kissed her softly. "And don't doubt yourself either. I know for a fact that you are going to be an amazing mother. You've already proven that over and over with Angie and Jamie and Lily."

"Mmm, don't worry, I know," she said teasingly, smiling again as she leaned in for another kiss.

He sighed, his arms circling around her as they rested contently in each other's arms and, for the first time in a few days, he was at peace.

**A/N: **So this chapter didn't exactly go the way I planned, but I still like it and I hope you did too.

Thanks for reading and please review!!!


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

It was strange to think that seven years after she left this place, she was moving back in. But despite the fact that Brooke hadn't had the best upbringing, her house had been a haven for her. It held more memories than she could count and to be moving back in was a strange but wonderful thing. She would be raising her own family in the place she grew up and there was really no other house she'd rather do that in.

As she looked around the living room, now full of their furniture and unpacked boxes, she knew that this was their home now. This was the place where she, Lucas, Lizzie and any other children they might bring into the world would live. And it was perfect.

The house had changed over the years, but Brooke thought it was for the better. It had been updated with sleek cherry hardwood floors and the kitchen had been completely remodeled. All of the walls had been freshly painted and the people who had rented the house out had added a hot tub outside, along with the still in good shape pool and new porch.

She and Lucas had chosen Brooke's old room to be Lizzie's room and Lucas had already started painting and filling it up with the seemingly endless amount of baby clothes, toys, and other items given to them at the baby shower Karen had thrown for Brooke a week ago. They'd only been living here two days now, but the house was already theirs in full and Brooke couldn't have been happier.

She had, however, had enough of the unpacking. There were still so many things to unpack and Brooke was ready to just rest. She practically threw herself onto the couch, flinging her legs up and sighing in contentment. Her belly blocked all views of her lower body, especially from this position, but she knew her feet were swollen like crazy and it was about time she got off of them and rested properly.

"Luke!" she lazily called, irritation growing in her as she realized that she really was much too thirsty and, now that she was lying on the couch there was no way she would be getting up anytime soon.

She heard the loud stomping of his feet as he raced down the stairs and smiled in amusement. Lucas had been on edge lately, especially now that she had a little bit more than three weeks to go until the baby came. Lucas suddenly appeared at the bottom of the stairs and made his way through the piles of boxes quickly, leaning down beside her.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm just thirsty. Wanna get me some water?"

He smiled, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "Of course I would, Pretty Girl."

He disappeared into the kitchen only to return a few moments later with a big cup of water in his hands. She thanked him as he handed it to her and then sat up slightly, leaning her back against the arm of the couch and taking a sip. She patted the spot next to her and moved her legs up as he took a seat before resting them on Lucas' lap. She was practically in heaven as his hands gently massaged her feet.

"How's everything going up there?" she asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"Good. I've got all four walls painted and now I've just got to get the trim. Nathan's going to be over in a few minutes to help me finish it up. You should come up and see it."

She grimaced. "Yeah, I don't see myself getting off this couch anytime soon, sorry. But I'll look at it later."

He chuckled and turned to look outside, were Nathan and Haley had just exited there car and were now making their way up the walk.

"Looks like I've got to get back to work," he said. "But at least you've got Haley to keep you company."

Lucas got up, going over to the front door and welcoming them both inside. Nathan smirked as he looked over at Brooke.

"You're not helping out today?" he said teasingly. "I should have known you'd make us men do all the work."

Brooke cocked an eyebrow. "Ha ha, very funny, Nate. Now go do your work. I'm not paying you to stand around you know."

Nathan laughed and followed Lucas up the stairs. "Like you're even paying me!" he called back.

Haley just rolled her eyes, making her way over to Brooke. "Don't I have the most charming husband?"

"You sure do," Brooke said, chuckling lightly. "So where's Jamie?"

"He's spending the day with Skills and Deb."

"Hmm…You know, even after all these months, I still think Skills and Deb are a very strange couple."

Haley sat down next to Brooke, an amused smile on her lips. "Yup, I agree. Imagine how Nathan feels."

Brooke nodded slowly. "I know… It'd be like my dad dating Peyton." They both visibly shuddered at the thought. "Okay, moving on to a less disturbing topic."

"Good," she said thoughtfully. "I mean, I really haven't seen that much of him, especially since this deal with the house went so fast, but from the little time we have spent together, it's been great. It's almost like he's a different guy now— a much better guy. And he just seems to genuinely care about me, you know? Actually, he seems pretty excited about becoming a grandfather too, so you never know how that will work out…"

"Well that's good. At least you've got one decent parent, right?"

Brooke smiled. "Yeah, I guess I do. So, what's going on with you?" She motioned to Haley's slightly swollen stomach and smiled. "You're looking pretty great."

"Thanks," Haley said, smiling down as she placed a hand on her belly. "I feel great. But then again, I'm still in the beginning stages. The last few months are always the toughest. You must be tired, huh? Especially after all this moving you've had to do."

Brooke rubbed her belly absently. "Yeah, I'm exhausted. I just can't wait for her to come out, you know? I mean, pregnancy's been fun, but I'm kind of sick of it now."

Haley chuckled. "I know what you mean; I was like that with Jamie. But it's worth it in the end."

Brooke smiled, thinking of the baby that would soon be joining them and of all that it took for her and Lucas to get to the point that they were at now.

"Yeah, it is."

* * *

"Dude, we're out of paint."

Lucas looked up from his position on the floor and sighed in annoyance. He'd been hoping to finish the painting tonight so that he could move on to the setting up everything else tomorrow, but at the rate they were going, especially with his brother's procrastination, that really didn't seem likely.

"Are you sure?"

Nathan nodded, holding up the paint container and flipping it upside down to prove his point. "Yup."

Lucas sighed again, standing back up and running a hand through his hair. "Alright, let's go get some more."

They made their way downstairs where Haley and Brooke were still sitting on the couch talking.

"We've got to go get some more paint," Lucas said, throwing his coat on.

"Do you think you can drop me off on the way?" Haley asked. "Deb should be dropping Jamie off at the house in about a half hour so I should probably head home."

Lucas nodded. "Sure."

Not wanting to waste any time, Lucas quickly pushed them all outside and soon, after dropping Haley off, they were at the hardware store. It didn't take long for Lucas to find everything he needed but, just as he was about to head to the checkout, Nathan pulled him aside.

"What?" Lucas asked curiously.

Nathan's eyes were narrowed as he stealthily nodded at something behind Lucas.

"Owen's here."

Lucas turned quickly, immediately noticing the familiar bartender standing a few feet away. The quick glance told Lucas that Owen had seen them too. It was obviously too late for Lucas to try to ignore him since Owen was headed their way, a determined look on his face.

"Hey, Nate, Lucas," Owen said, smiling as he reached them both. "I thought I saw you earlier."

Lucas looked awkwardly down at the cans of paint he was holding.

"It's good to see you, man," Nathan said, smiling lightly.

"Yeah, you too. The guys on the team are missing you like crazy. Slamball just isn't the same without you."

Nathan chuckled. "Yeah, I'm sure."

It may have been petty, but Lucas was annoyed that Owen had seemed to find a way into not only Brooke's life, but Nathan's as well. It was as if he was trying to steal Lucas' life away from him. He knew it was ridiculous and obviously Owen was not trying to do that, but ever since Owen and Brooke's reconciliation he had found it very hard to tolerate Owen's friendliness towards Brooke and just about anyone else he was close to.

"So, uh, Lucas…" Owen turned to look at him and he finally glanced back at him, a tight smile on his lips. "I'm actually glad I ran into you because I've been meaning to ask you something."

Sensing that Owen wanted to make this conversation private, Nathan quickly took the paint from Lucas and said that he'd go pay for them. Now, as he and Owen both stood together in the middle of the otherwise empty aisle, he looked at Owen curiously.

"What do you need?" Lucas asked as politely as he could.

Owen sighed. "Look, I know that you don't like me but I—."

Lucas felt the need to cut him off right there. "Where'd you get that idea?"

Owen raised an eyebrow. "It's pretty obvious, Lucas. That night a couple of weeks ago when you came home and I was there you looked pretty damn angry."

"That wasn't just because of you," Lucas defended. "I'd had a bad night and I took out my frustration on you."

"Okay, fine. But how about the other day when I helped you move? You barely said two words to me and when you did you weren't too friendly."

Lucas sighed, stuffing his hand in his pockets and trying to hide his annoyance. "Look, maybe you're right. Maybe I don't like you that much. But don't you think you wouldn't like me if our roles were reversed?"

"Maybe, but you don't have anything to worry about," Owen said, his eyes serious. "I'm not gonna try anything with Brooke."

Lucas nodded slowly, knowing that Owen wouldn't likely lie about something like this. As annoying as Lucas found him, Owen truly wasn't that bad of a guy. But still, he felt the need to ask him something.

"Owen," he said, his tone softer and friendlier, "I need to know something and I'd appreciate it if you answered honestly. And I promise I won't throw something at you no matter the answer."

Owen looked hesitant, but eventually nodded. "Okay…"

"Do you still have feeling for Brooke?"

If the question caught Owen off guard he wasn't acting like it. Instead he just raked a hand through his hair, his eyes somber. Lucas knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from Owen himself.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't."

Lucas nodded slowly, a light small covering his lips. "I think that pretty much answers why I'm not too fond of you right now."

Owen smiled too and for some reason, despite Owen's answer, the mood lightened. "Listen, I'm sorting through everything I'm feeling for her and I'm trying to get rid of it. But it takes time and it's just not something that I can turn on and off, you know?"

"I know and I don't expect you to not be friends with her. She's a great girl."

"Yeah, she is. If it makes you feel any better, there's really no chance in hell for me. Really, the way she talks about you when I'm with her…" He grimaced. "It's nauseating."

Lucas cracked a grin. "Too bad for you, huh?"

Owen just laughed. "Yeah, it really does suck. But I'm getting used to it."

"Hey, uh…" They both turned around to see Nathan approaching with the bags of paint, a hesitant smile on his face as he looked at the two of them. He turned to Lucas. "You ready to go?"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, I think so. He smiled again at Owen. "It was good talking to you, Owen."

Owen smiled and turned to leave. "Yeah, you too. I guess I'll see you both around."

Lucas and Nathan watched him disappear into the next aisle before heading outside.

"What was that about?" Nathan asked as they got into Lucas' car.

"I don't really know," he answered, rethinking the conversation. "I guess Owen just wanted to make his intentions about Brooke clear."

"And I'm guessing his intentions are obviously pure since you didn't get into a brawl."

Lucas chuckled softly. "He promised he won't intervene with us. He really just wants to be her friend."

"Well, that's good. See I told you he wasn't that bad."

Lucas nodded slowly, his eyes on the road. Suddenly he didn't feel the desire to paint anymore. Now he just wanted to spend a peaceful night with his fiancée.

"Nate, I'm thinking that we can pick up with the painting tomorrow so I'll just drop you off at your place. Is that okay with you?"

Nathan just laughed. "You don't even have to ask."

* * *

A short while after they all left, Brooke was now settling comfortably back onto the couch, her eyes drooping as she tried to keep them on the TV screen. She hadn't really accomplished much today, but then again besides the remaining boxes that needed to be unpacked and of course the nursery, there was little she could do.

So now she was in the mood to relax— hopefully with Lucas. He'd been going nonstop the last few days and she really hoped that after he and Nathan returned they wouldn't spend much more time painting. She was really starting to feel like she was being deprived of her Lucas time.

A knock on the door woke her from her impending sleep and she tiredly sat up, groaning as she stretched her legs. Pushing herself up from the couch, she slowly walked to the front door, looking through the peephole to see who was there.

She was definitely surprised at who she saw.

"Dad," she said, opening the door, "what are you doing here?"

As far as she knew, her dad had left town over a week ago, so she really wasn't expecting to see him here right now. Her father stood there with a small smile on his face, completely contradicting the usual frown he used to wear when she was younger. It was definitely a sight Brooke was still getting used to.

"I had a few last minute details I had to finish with the realtor," he explained. "I came in early this morning and I'm leaving in about three hours. I just thought I'd stop by and see how the moving was going."

Still getting over the shock of his appearance, it took her a few seconds to answer. "Oh, um…it's going great, actually. We've just got a few more things to unpack. Do you want to come in and see the place?"

Richard nodded. "I would love to."

She led him inside, feeling a bit awkward as she showed him around the house. The tour was over quickly and soon they were back in the hallway, an uncomfortable silence taking over.

Her father looked around and she tried to think of what to say. She'd never exactly been completely comfortable in her father's presence, mostly because he'd always been so distant and closed off. She couldn't even remember a time when she and her father had sat down and really talked. Now that she really thought about it, she and her father had always sort of ignored each other. That thought now didn't make her particularily happy. In fact, standing in front of the much happier looking man right now, she wished more than anything that she could go back and change things—that she would have made an effort to try to talk to him.

But they had now and she knew that this was a good second chance.

"Do you want to sit down?" she asked, feeling a new spark of energy surge through her.

Richard's smile widened and he nodded, following her over to the couch and sitting down with her.

"It's been really great to have you here these past few weeks," she said quietly.

"I've actually really enjoyed being here," he said, leaning back on the couch. "My only regret is that I spent too much time working on the deal with the house than with you."

Her father never ceased to surprise her these days. "Really?"

He nodded. "Business always seemed to come first when it came to my family. That in turn is the biggest regret of my life. You know, your mother and I didn't always hate each other. There was a time when we both couldn't imagine life without each other."

Brooke looked at him thoughtfully. "Was Victoria… _mom_, I mean...always such a…" She wasn't sure how to finish the question without sounding disrespectful.

"I believe the word you young people would use to describe her is 'bitch'."

Brooke kinked an eyebrow, laughing lightly. "Yeah, that'd be the word."

Her father chuckled, his eyes dropping to look at his hands. "No, Victoria wasn't always that way. What happened was that, after we had you, she was sort of forced to put her life on hold. She had dreams, dreams that she wasn't able to accomplish because she was busy being a mother. And I don't think she minded at first, but as the years went by I think she grew to resent the fact that she couldn't do all that she had dreamed of doing and I think she grew to resent me because I had chosen to ignore my family and continue on with my own plans. It was a selfish decision on my part and ultimately it was the downfall of our family."

She'd never really understood why her parents had been the way they were, especially her mother, and so to hear her father explain all this made her surprisingly sympathetic to the both of them.

"Brooke," Richard said, and her attention turned to him once again, "is this the life that you truly want?"

Her eyes narrowed in confusion. "What?"

Richard looked straight at her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You're happy, Brooke, and I truly believe that. You're starting a family and to me, it seems as if this is you are meant to do. But I have to ask if this life—motherhood and normality—is this what you really want out of your life? Or are there still other things that you wish to accomplish?"

She looked down at her swollen stomach, resting both her hands on it, and she knew that this was what she wanted. It might be hard for her father to understand, but she knew that he had her best interests in mind. He just didn't want her to go through what he and Victoria went through and she understood that.

"This is what I want, Dad," she said confidently. "This is what I came home for. I've lived the dream with Clothes Over Bros and it did make me happy at first but it was never enough. I knew that what I really wanted was to be a mom and now that I'm finally getting to be one, there's no doubt in my mind that I'd rather be doing anything else."

He smiled widely. "Good. I was pretty sure you felt that way, but I just wanted to hear it from you." His face turned more serious. "I want you to know that, even though it may appear so, your mother and I do _not_ regret or resent you in any sort of way. Yes, we were fairly young when we had you, but we did want you. The problem was that we didn't make you the priority in our lives and, like I said, that was our downfall."

She nodded slowly. "Thank you…it means a lot to hear you say that. And thank you for coming here and explaining all this. I never really understood, but I do now…"

He took her hand. "Thank you for welcoming me back with such open arms. I don't deserve it. But I really do hope that you and I can start fresh."

She smiled. "I'd love that. Besides, this kid needs one decent grandpa in her life."

Richard chuckled lightly. "You know, Victoria is absolutely convinced that she is way too young to have the title of grandma. She thinks it's ridiculous. I, on the other hand, can't wait and I'm incredibly grateful that you'll let me be apart of your daughter's life. I only hope that I can be a better grandfather than I was a father."

She squeezed her father's hand. "You're doing a pretty good job right now, Dad."

He looked at her with a sad smile and took deep breath. "Thank you, Brooke…you don't know how much that means to hear you say that."

* * *

By the time Lucas returned, her father had left. She was surprised to see that his brother wasn't with him when he walked through the door with the bags of paint.

"Hey," she called from the couch, "where's Nathan?"

He smiled at the sight of her, setting his stuff down and walking over to her. She tugged at his hand, pulling him down onto the couch with her.

"I sent him home for the night," he said, situating himself behind her and wrapping his arms around her. "I thought it was about time I spent some time with my girl."

She smiled, closing her eyes as his hands roamed soothingly up and down her belly. "Mmm, good thinking…" His lips moved the side of her face before nibbling gently on her ear and she moaned in pleasure.

"So," he said softly, resting his head back again, "I ran into Owen at the store."

She looked up at him in surprise. "How'd that go?"

"It went good. I think I trust him a little more now."

"Well it looks like you and I both had an interesting time while you were gone—my dad showed up a few minutes after you left."

His eyebrows crinkled in confusion. "I thought he left."

"He had a few things to finish up with here apparently. He's headed to the airport now."

Lucas nodded slowly. "How'd it go?"

"It went really well, actually." She told him what her father had said, Lucas listening intently and without interruption all the while. "I think I can kind of understand why they turned out the way they did," she finished.

By now they were sitting up again, with her back against the arm of the couch and Lucas draping his arms along the back of it.

"It's great that your dad wants to be involved in your life again. Now I think I know where your great heart comes from."

She smiled, taking his hand and intertwining her fingers with his. "Never in a million years did I think I'd ever see my dad the way he is now. It's kind of amazing."

"It is," he agreed.

He bent forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips, moving his free hand back to her belly. She let her body relax again, closing her eyes and resting her hand over Lucas'. A few minutes later she felt Lucas pull her back into her arms and it was only then that she finally succumbed to sleep.

**A/N: **As you might have guessed, this was pretty much a filler chapter. Next chapter is when things will start getting much more interesting. There's actually only about five chapters left now, so we're really getting close to the end.

Thanks so much for reading and please remember to review!


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

"First basketball game of the season," Nathan said conversationally. "How are you feeling, big bro?"

Lucas glanced at Nathan as he fastened his tie. "I'm feeling like we're gonna win."

Nathan grinned and patted Lucas's shoulder. "With us coaching, I'd say you're spot on. Now hurry up or we'll be late."

Shaking his head with a smile on his face, Lucas threw on his jacket. There was something about the first game of the season that always got him excited. Maybe it was because it represented a fresh start. Last year was done and over with and this year was all that mattered. It was the start of a brand new season of his basketball career, just like this past year with Brooke had been the start of the rest of his life.

"Brooke," Lucas called up stairs, "Nathan and I are heading over to the school. Do you need anything?"

He heard her moving upstairs, presumable trying to find the perfect outfit to wear – although in her state she was claiming that literally _nothing_ looked good on her. He disagreed with that completely.

"Hold on," her voice sounded back to them.

A few seconds later, she was making her way downstairs, still wearing a loose pair of sweats and his old gray hoodie that clung tightly to her rounded belly.

She smirked as she walked over to him, placing a purposefully slow kiss on his lips. "Since I won't be seeing you before the game, I thought I'd give you your kiss now. You know, for good luck."

Nathan was laughing behind him, but Lucas just smiled. "Well, thank you for that. There's no way we'll lose now." She grinned, pulling him in for another kiss.

"Alright," Nathan interrupted, "enough with the cheesy lovey doveyness. Let's go, Luke."

Lucas reluctantly pulled away and moved towards the door. "Brooke, are you_ sure_ you want to come to the game tonight? Because I'd understand if you weren't up to it."

She sent him a look that told him she was tired of his constant nagging. He couldn't help it though. She only had exactly eight days until her due date but at this point, the doctor had said that she really could go into labor any day now. So, needless to say, Lucas was pretty sure he had a good reason to nag her tonight.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now go and don't worry about me. Haley and Peyton and everyone else will be there with me, so I'll be taken care of."

He wasn't entirely convinced that he shouldn't be worrying about her, especially since she'd tossed and turned in bed most of last night. Something was up with her and she wasn't telling him what it was. Still, if anything happened, he was sure she would let him know. So he nodded slowly, accepting defeat, and sent her one last smile as he followed Nathan outside of his house.

* * *

"Brooke!"

She sighed at the sound of Haley's voice, knowing that now she had no more time to divulge over her wardrobe. She smoothed down her dress, trying to make it flow better with her curves and now hugely swollen belly. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to be helping.

Before she could reply, Haley's head popped inside her bedroom. "You look pretty amazing," she said enthusiastically.

"Thanks, but I know you're just saying that because you're trying to be a good friend." Right now she was strongly resisting the urge to just throw her sweats back on and go in that, but she knew she couldn't. She wanted to look good tonight.

"No, I'm not." Haley looked at her sternly. "You look beautiful tonight, Brooke. What do you say, Jamie?"

Brooke turned around now, for the first time noticing that Jamie had appeared next to Haley.

"I think you always look pretty, Aunt Brooke." Jamie looked at her with his cute smile and she felt herself lighten up.

"Oh, thank you, J. Luke." She walked over to Jamie and attempted to bend down and pull him into a hug, but with her belly any sort of bending really was pointless to try. Instead, she settled for affectionately stroking his short blond hair.

"Are you ready?" Haley asked.

She wasn't but at this point there was nothing else she could do and so she nodded. "Yeah..."

They headed downstairs and just as they reached the front door, Brooke felt a small tightening in her back and abdomen. She stopped, placing a hand on her belly, and only a second later the feeling was gone. The feeling wasn't so much painful as it was uncomfortable, but it had been happening most of the day and she had started to get used to it. She of course hadn't told Lucas about this; he'd probably force her to go to the hospital even though they both knew that in the end they'd be sent right back home.

"Are you okay?" Haley called to her.

Brooke looked up to see that Haley and Jamie were already at the car. Haley's eyes were planted on her nervously. Brooke smiled, standing up straight and walking over to them confidently.

"I'm fine. Let's go."

* * *

Peyton leaned against her car and glanced at her cell phone. It was quarter to seven and Jake and Jenny would be meeting her here at the school any minute now. The two of them would be moving to Tree Hill in less than a month now. Jake had found a house not far from her own and he had arrived in town earlier today to sign the papers. She hadn't seen them for a few days, since the last time she had been in Raleigh, and their visit provided the perfect opportunity for Peyton to spend some quality time with both of them.

She really hadn't been lacking in her time with them, though. In fact, whenever she wasn't in Raleigh, Jake seemed to be in Tree Hill. They really only ever went at the most two or three days without seeing each other and for that she was grateful; she needed him in her life more than ever.

His car pulled up a few minutes later and she waved at Jenny, who was practically jumping in her seat at the sight of Peyton. The moment the car stopped, Jenny jumped out and into her arms.

"Hey, kid," Peyton said, grinning as she wrapped Jenny into a tight hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Jenny laughed as Peyton jokingly ruffled her hair. Jake remained in the car, talking into his cell phone.

"Daddy's talking to Mommy," Jenny mentioned as she noticed Peyton's curious stare.

Peyton nodded slowly. Despite the fact that Nikki had gained shared custody of Jenny in high school, nowadays she rarely spent more than a few weekends a month with her daughter. Nikki was doing well apparently, but her career as a lawyer was put above her daughter and so she hadn't objected when Jake had told her about his decision to move back north.

A minute later, Jake made his way out of the car and over to her. He placed a soft kiss on her lips, stringing his hand through hers. "Sorry, Nikki was just giving me all the last minute details on her trip up here."

"She's coming to visit me!" Jenny exclaimed cheerfully.

Even though Nikki hadn't been a great mother at first, Jake had told her that Nikki really was dedicated to being in Jenny's life, even though her job did seem more important to her sometimes. But Jenny loved Nikki and Peyton was glad that her mother was there for her.

"That's great, Jenny." Peyton took Jenny's hand in her free one and they walked towards the gym. "So are you ready to watch the Ravens play? You know your dad used to play basketball here."

Jenny looked up at him. "Daddy, you played basketball?"

"Yeah, but it feels like so long ago."

Peyton grinned. "That's because it was."

He wrapped an arm around her, chuckling lightly. "It's been awhile, but it'll be great to root for the Ravens again."

Peyton smiled, leaning into him. "And once you start teaching here you'll be able to root for them all you want."

His eyes met hers. "I can't wait."

* * *

Lucas walked out onto the gym with an air of confidence. He'd done all he could to make sure that his players were prepared for tonight and now it was up to them. It was always an odd feeling to know that he wasn't actually the one playing. He had spent two years playing on this court and he had never really gotten used to giving the orders instead of following them.

He looked over at Nathan and Skills, who stood on both sides of him, and then back at the boys warming up on the court. Quentin showed off as he effortlessly dunked the ball in the basket and the other players shouted praises his way. Lucas just grinned; their really was no way they could lose.

His eyes moved over to the stands, which by now were filling up. It was almost seven and soon the game would be starting. He tried to find Brooke and the others amongst the crowd, but there were too many people.

Jamie suddenly appeared through the doors and ran over to them. Nathan pulled his son into his arms, chuckling as Jamie waved at Q, who winked in turn.

"Hey, Jamie," Lucas said, "where's everyone at?"

Jamie turned his attention from the court and onto him. "Momma and Aunt Brooke are waiting for Aunt Peyton." Then his attention went back to the players on the court and Lucas knew that the little boy was now absorbed once again into the world of basketball.

His eyes wandered over the main doors again and this time he spotted familiar faces amongst the crowd of people. Brooke and Haley, along with Peyton, Jake, and Jenny, were walking over to the stands. Brooke and the others met his mother, Andy, Lily, and Deb in the stands and, as she settled into her seat next to Haley, her gaze landed on his. She winked at him, grinning suggestively. He just smiled, digging his hands into his pockets, and fought the urge to go over to her and ask for another good luck kiss. It would only take a second.

But then the ringer sounded and Nathan and Skills were calling the players over to them. His eyes turned reluctantly from her and he focused on the clipboard in his hands. The game was now on.

* * *

Brooke twisted around in her seat, trying her hardest to ignore the pain that was now radiating in her back and abdomen. It was much more uncomfortable now than it had been earlier and therefore a lot harder to ignore. She knew that this wasn't just back pain, though, but she was still at the point where she was refusing to admit what it actually was.

But as soon as the pain had come, it had gone and she felt herself relax and take a deep breath. She focused again on the game being played below them, although she really was focusing more on Lucas than anything else.

"Brooke, are you okay?" Karen had poked her head around Peyton and was looking at her anxiously.

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I'm great." She didn't want anyone to worry about her; she knew she would be fine for now.

Karen didn't seem entirely convinced, but lucky for Brooke, Lily had chosen that moment to ask her mother to take her to the bathroom. As she and her daughter made their way past her, Karen sent her a suspicious glance and Brooke knew that when she came back there would definitely be more questions.

Peyton turned to look at her. "Are you sure—?"

Brooke held up a hand. "Peyton, I'm _fine_," she said firmly.

Peyton kinked an eyebrow, but shrugged. "Whatever you say, Brooke…"

Almost ten minutes later, after finally convincing Karen that she really was perfectly fine, the pain was back again. It was a dull pain and it didn't last long, but it was extremely uncomfortable for her and sitting on the cramped, hard bleachers wasn't helping.

"I'm going to the bathroom," she said quietly to Peyton. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

The moment she stood up, she knew that Peyton would follow. Lately Peyton had been almost as overprotective as Lucas, but then again, just about everyone in her life had been watchful of her the past few weeks. Sure enough, Peyton quickly called after her, telling her that she was coming too. As Brooke passed Haley, she sent her an amused smile, but Haley looked worried.

As she made her way to the doors, she glanced over at the sidelines. Lucas was looking right at her, his eyes narrowed, and she could tell he was worried too. She sent him a grin, trying to ease his anxiety, and he seemed to relax slightly as he smiled back at her.

"Okay, what's the deal?" Peyton asked as soon as they were out the doors.

Brooke faked confusion. "What do you mean?"

Peyton looked at her pointedly. "Something's up with you. A few minutes ago you were really tense and I know you were trying to hide it, but I could tell that you were in pain."

"I'm just having some back pains." Brooke walked briskly though the hallways and towards the bathroom, Peyton on her heels.

"_Just_ back pains? Are you sure they're not more than that?"

"Positive."

They were at the bathroom now and Brooke was grateful that it was empty because she knew Peyton's twenty questions weren't over yet. She lifted her purse onto the sink and pulled out her makeup, intending to freshen up. Peyton just stood behind her, her arms crossed, and stared at Brooke with narrowed eyes.

"What?" Brooke tried to hide her annoyance, but she really didn't think it was working.

Peyton just shrugged. "Nothing."

Brooke glared at her, but just as she was about to respond, she felt the now familiar pain radiate her body again. It was slightly stronger this time and her fingers automatically gripped the sink. It lasted only a minute. She took a deep breath, relaxing.

"Back pains, huh?" Peyton wore a sympathetic smile on her lips. Brooke just sighed, knowing it was no use to deny it anymore, and Peyton walked over to her, putting a hand on her back. "Come on, we should get you out of here."

She shook her head. "No, that'll just make everyone freak out."

"Brooke, you're in _labor_."

She glared at Peyton stubbornly. "No, I'm not."

Peyton laughed. "Yes, you are."

"And you would know how?"

"It doesn't take a genius to know when someone's in labor."

Brooke groaned in frustration. Of course Peyton was right— she was definitely having contractions— but according to her doctor, she didn't need to come into the hospital until they were five minutes apart. And as of now, the contractions were around nine minutes apart. She told Peyton this, hoping that this could stop her from forcing her out of here.

"You should at least go home," Peyton said, and Brooke could tell that she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Alright, fine. I'll go home. But do _not_ tell Lucas about this, okay? This is their first game and I don't want anything distracting him from it."

Peyton nodded. "Don't worry, I won't say anything."

The two of them walked back outside, bumping right into Haley on their way out.

"Hey," Haley said, "I thought I'd come check up on you. What's going on?"

"I'm just having some back pains so Peyton's insisting on driving me home."

Peyton looked at her disapprovingly. "Brooke, you're having contractions. There's no need to lie."

Haley didn't seem at all surprised by this. "I'm going to come with you. Let me just tell Karen and I'll meet you at your car."

"Haley, if you tell Karen she'll tell Lucas and he's sort of in the middle of a game so I don't think that's a great idea."

Haley glanced back towards the gym nervously. "I'll just tell her you're having some back pains and not to worry, okay? She should at least know you're leaving."

Brooke nodded, knowing that Haley was probably right. She walked slowly with Peyton towards her car. She felt perfectly fine right now, but somehow she knew that wouldn't be lasting much longer.

And then she felt the first shrill of excitement run throughout her body. This was the final stretch and very soon, probably within the next twenty-four hours, her baby would be here. She felt her lips twist into a huge smile at the thought, only to be drawn back into a frown by the sudden contraction of her belly.

She grimaced; this was going to be a long night.

* * *

The Ravens had won and Lucas found himself lost in the throng of people. He made his way over to the benches where his mother and everyone else were all seated. He'd never seen Brooke and Peyton come back after they had left earlier and now it seemed that Haley was gone too.

Nathan suddenly appeared next to him, holding a celebrating Jamie. He knew that his brother's eyes were searching for Haley.

"Do you see Hales anywhere?"

Lucas just shook his head, concentrating on making his way through the crowd and over to the bleachers.

"Great game, Luke," his mom said when he finally reached them. She pulled him into a quick hug.

"Yeah," he said, distracted as he looked around for Brooke, "they did good. Where's Brooke at?"

"Oh, Peyton and Haley took her home. She was pretty tired and apparently her back was bothering her." His mom was slightly guilty for some reason and he could tell that she didn't seem to believe her own words.

"Is she okay?" he asked anxiously.

She nodded, smiling at Lucas encouragingly. "Yes, Lucas. Do yourself a favor and don't worry."

He wasn't sure that was possible.

He was just about to head out to his car and leave when Skills called him over.

"Luke, you coming to the locker room?"

He shook his head, digging inside his pants for his keys. Nathan and Skills both walked over to him. "Sorry, but I've got to skip the after game chat tonight."

Nathan looked at him seriously. "Is it Brooke?"

He ran his hand through his hair nervously. "I don't know, but I've got to go home and make sure everything's okay."

Skills nodded. "Go ahead. We'll cover for you."

He smiled gratefully. "Thanks. I'll call you if something's up."

He practically ran out of the gym, his hands clinging tightly to his keys, and was at his car a few seconds later. As he raced out of the parking lot, he knew that he might be overreacting. For all he knew, Brooke really was just tired. But he had a strong feeling that there was a lot more to this than his mom let on and he knew that he had to get home.

* * *

She was pacing the living room nervously. The contractions had started coming closer together and she was growing more and more uncomfortable. Peyton watched helplessly from the couch as Haley raced around the kitchen, getting Brooke a glass of water.

"Do you think the game's over yet?" Peyton asked, looking over at the clock.

It was almost nine-thirty and Brooke was pretty sure that the game definitely was over. She didn't want to call Lucas, though; that would only result in him frantically driving home in a way too nervous state. No, he'd be home soon enough. She only hoped he'd get here before she needed to go to the hospital.

"Here's your water," Haley said, appearing in the living room and she grabbed the glass.

And then another contraction hit. This one was the most painful yet. Haley tried to help her back to the couch, but at this point Brooke thought she was much better standing up and so she shrugged off Haley's hand, instead leaning against the wall.

Her hands flew up and down her taut belly, hoping that somehow she could convince her daughter to calm down just a little bit, but nothing seemed to be working. She clenched her teeth together and held back a groan.

And then it stopped.

She sighed, standing up straight, and reached for the glass of water again. She took a long sip and then handed it back to Haley.

Haley rubbed her back slowly. "Was it bad?"

She nodded slowly. "The worst one yet."

She started pacing again. There was really nothing else she could do now. Lucas would be home soon and at this rate they'd need to head to the hospital as soon as he arrived. She was about to ask Haley if she should call Karen and ask about the game when she heard Peyton gasp loudly.

Brooke's eyes narrowed as she realized what Peyton was freaking out about. Her eyes fell to the floor where a small puddle of water had suddenly appeared at her feet. A frustrated groan escaped her lips.

"Oh, _great_."

**A/N: **And so the baby's _almost_ here. :D If it makes you all feel any better, she'll be here the next chapter, so you don't have to wait much longer…

As usual, thanks so much for reading and please review!


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

Lucas flew up the driveway. He didn't really care that he'd broken probably all traffic laws on his way here; he just had to know that Brooke was okay. He fumbled with his keys, trying to find the right one, only to drop them a second later. Grunting in annoyance, he swiftly picked them up, this time more carefully searching through his keys.

"Why do I have so many?" he wondered aloud.

Finally he found the one he was looking for. And then he realized that the door was unlocked.

He couldn't help but laugh at himself. He really didn't have much of a reason to be worried and Brooke was probably just fine. Suddenly feeling a lot more relaxed, he slowly opened the door.

His eyes widened at the sight that greeted him. Haley was on the floor, wiping something up with a rag. Peyton was running around the room looking for something, presumably a phone since that's the word she was continuously mumbling. And Brooke was no where in sight. None of them noticed his entrance.

He was just about to say something when Peyton reached into her pocket and held up her cell phone.

"I found it!" she exclaimed. She looked at her phone with narrowed eyes. "Wow, I'm an idiot."

Haley looked up from the floor. "You're in a high-stress situation, Peyton. Don't blame yourself."

High-stress situation? What did that mean? He opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but was interrupted by sound of Brooke's voice.

"Peyton, did you call Lucas?"

Peyton's eyes never left her phone. "I'm dialing him right now."

A second later, she was down the stairs. She was carrying her bag— the one she had packed for the hospital—and she looked extrememly worn out. Unlike the others, she noticed him right away.

"Lucas!"

All eyes turned on him. It was at that moment that he realized that, even if he did want to speak, he couldn't; he was completely speechless.

Peyton dropped her phone with a sigh. "I guess all that hard work was pointless," she mumbled.

Haley stood up, rushing over to him, while Brooke put a hand on his arm. He just stood there in confusion.

"Lucas, how long have you been standing there?" Haley asked.

He ignored the question. "What's going on?" he finally said, although it really came out as more of a stutter.

Brooke's hold on his arm tightened and she wore a guilty smile. "My water broke. We have to go to the hospital."

He felt his knees go weak. "When? Why didn't you tell me?"

Brooke chuckled softly and laced her fingers through his. "Just a couple of minutes ago. And Peyton was just about to call you."

"Are you okay?" he asked softly. "Maybe you should sit down."

"I'm fine. And I'll sit down in the car. Let's go."

He nodded quickly. "Yeah, yeah, that's probably a good idea." His eyes darted around the room and he suddenly felt himself panic.

"Where are my keys?"

Brooke laughed. "In your hands."

"He's even worse than me," Peyton said, grinning at him.

He just ignored her, walking straight out the door and over to the car. He heard Brooke, Peyton, and Haley following behind him. He wasn't really sure why he was freaking out so much. He'd been preparing himself for this night practically ever since Brooke had found out she was pregnant. But now that it was actually happening he didn't know how to process it and he suddenly forgot everything he'd planned.

He opened the door for Brooke and she slid in. She seemed perfectly normal and calm, but she was definitely tired. He didn't know how she could be so calm in a situation like this. As a matter of fact, she seemed to be the calmest of them all. That was until a second later, when she let out a loud moan.

"Another one," she said between clenched teeth. Haley rushed next to Lucas at the open door, murmuring words of comfort and Peyton hopped into the driver's seat. He just stood next to Haley, utterly clueless about what to do. Brooke reached out for his hand and he gave it to her. She grasped it more tightly than she ever had and he found himself wincing in pain.

A minute later, Brooke's hold on his hand relaxed and she let out a long sigh.

"Is it over?" Haley asked.

Brooke just nodded, leaning her head back against the seat and closing her eyes.

"Lucas," Peyton said, "why don't you and Brooke hop in the back? I'll drive and Haley can coach from the front seat."

"I can drive," Lucas protested.

"No offense, Luke," Haley said, "but you're kind of out of it. Let Peyton drive."

There was no point in protesting any further and so he helped Brooke out of the passenger's seat and into the back of the SUV. He slid in next to her and she leaned the side of her body against him, her hands cradling her belly. His arm wrapped around her shoulders and he softly kissed the top of her head.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking down at her. The car was moving and they were finally on their way.

She looked up at him, a small smile on her lips. "Right now I am. But I'm not exactly looking forward to the next contraction."

"How far apart are they?"

"About five minutes now."

His hands stroked her shoulder and he waited nervously for the next one to come. She'd held herself well during the last one, but he knew that was only the beginning. He wasn't looking forward to seeing her suffer anymore.

"This is it, Luke." Brooke was looking up at him with an expression of awe. "She's almost here."

Lucas grinned, realizing that his daughter would likely be here within the next day. It was an amazing thought. He ducked his head to hers, kissing her lips softly. Her hand cupped his cheek.

"This is amazing, Brooke."

She smiled. "I know."

* * *

This was _not_ fun. Brooke decided that almost immediately after they had checked her into the hospital. She'd expected this to be painful, but she honestly hadn't thought it would be _this _bad. She'd been at the hospital for nearly four hours now and the pain had only gotten worse. It felt like her insides were being ripped out of her body.

"How people can do this multiple times is beyond me," she said, after a particularly painful contraction.

"It's worth it, Brooke," Haley assured her.

It was good to have Haley here, especially now. She's been through this before and so she was able to offer advice and encouragement that Peyton and Lucas couldn't give. Luckily Karen was there as well and she knew even more than Haley what to expect.

Nathan, Rachel, Skills, Jake, and Andy had all come to offer there support and where currently waiting to hear any news in the waiting room. Deb had offered to watch all of the kids and so Jamie, Lily, and Jenny were all with her. But as the night turned into early morning and she showed no signs of getting any closer to being ready to push, she was tempted to just tell Lucas to send everyone home. It was frustrating, but she hadn't expected to have a fast labor either.

Lucas seemed to read her thoughts. "It's getting late," he said to the others. "You guys should head home and get some rest. I'll call if anything happens."

They all began to protest but Brooke cut in. "Really, I'll be okay. It's gonna be awhile so you really won't miss anything."

Haley and Peyton looked at them both hesitantly but nodded.

"You'll promise to call?" Haley said.

Lucas nodded. "Of course, Hales. Don't worry."

The two of them left, but Karen didn't move. "I'm not sure I'm ready to leave yet."

"Mom," Lucas said, chuckling, "she'll be fine. Just go get a couple of hours of sleep and then you can come back."

Karen sighed, not looking very happy about having to leave, but agreed. She placed a kiss on Brooke's forehead. "You're doing good, Brooke," she said and then she walked out the door.

Lucas hand was still clasped in her own and his other one gently wiped her hair back from her eyes. Another contraction was coming. She could feel it.

And sure enough, a second later, it was here. She let out a loud moan, her hand tightening around Lucas', and tried to breath through it.

"I'm _so_ not doing this again," she moaned through clenched teeth.

Lucas looked at her hesitantly. "Whatever you say, Pretty Girl…"

She just shot him a glare.

* * *

Lucas walked through the hallways of the hospital in a daze. It had been over seven hours now and, although Brooke was getting closer and closer, it was still going to be awhile before the baby arrived. Brooke had sent him out of the room a few minutes ago, claiming that he was more annoying than her contractions. He'd just smiled and followed her orders. At this point, even though he didn't like to admit it, he was ready for a break.

He found the cafeteria and immedietly bought a coffee. He needed some more energy if he was going to make it the rest of the night without falling asleep on his feet. The cafeteria was nearly empty and he relished the silence. He took a seat at a table and took a sip of the strong black coffee.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Lucas looked up at the sound of the familiar voice and arched an eyebrow.

"I thought we sent you home."

His mother grinned and took a seat across from him. "You did. But that was a few hours ago. I went home, got a couple hours of sleep, and now I'm back."

He just shook his head in amusement, taking another sip.

"How you doing?" his mom asked after a few moments of silence.

"I'm just tired." He ran a hand through his hair. "But I'm fine. Brooke's got to be exhausted, though…It's just so hard having to see her like this. She's in so much pain and I can't do anything to help her. I just feel so helpless."

Karen reached across the table and put her hand on his. "I know it's hard to see her in pain, but you've got to stay positive because the pain is worth it. Every minute of it. And Brooke knows that, so don't feel bad for her. She _wants_ this, Luke— not the pain, but the result of it—and she's willing to go through it."

"I know. And knowing that she's going through this so that our daughter can be born makes me feel better about it. But it's still hard to watch."

"I know it is. But you're doing great, Lucas. And it's not going to be much longer. Soon enough your baby girl is going to be here and all the pain will be forgotten."

Her words seemed to lift the heavy weight that had settled around his heart and suddenly he felt a burst of energy surge through his body. Very soon his life was going to change and he couldn't wait.

* * *

"I…want…._drugs_."

Lucas held back a groan as Brooke's fingers crushed his. "You said you wanted to go natural," he said with a tight smile. Over and over again Brooke had told him that she wanted to have a natural childbirth with no pain medications.

"Well, that was before I had any idea of what I was getting myself into!" She let go of his hand, panting heavily and her head back with a moan. "I've changed my mind," she said, this time her voice much softer. "I want drugs."

He looked helplessly over at the nurse who had just entered.

She walked over to Brooke, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'll tell the doctor to prepare for an epidural if you'd like."

Brooke nodded quickly, smiling in relief. "Thank you, that'd be perfect."

Lucas was probably more relieved at her decision than she was. Anything that would help ease her pain was good with him. It was nearly eight in the morning now and neither Lucas nor Brooke had gotten any sleep. Hopefully the epidural would ease her pain enough for her to get some rest.

His mother sat on Brooke's other side, watching her carefully. It was times like these that he was tremendously grateful for his mom; she'd been amazing with coaching Brooke through the contractions, especially when his own confidence had faltered.

Brooke grabbed his hand again as another contraction tore through her body. He frowned as he watched her moan in pain. This epidural was looking better and better by the second.

* * *

She was practically in heaven. The pain was almost completely gone, the tense tightening of her abdomen the only evidence of contractions. Why hadn't she thought of this sooner?

She looked over at Lucas, who was finally sleeping in the chair that his mother had earlier occupied. Karen had gone to get herself a cup of coffee. Peyton had arrived a few hours ago and Haley had called a few minutes ago telling her that she was heading over.

"If I ever have a kid, I'm totally getting an epidural. Like right away."

Brooke laughed at her best friend's words. "Well, I'm not sure you can get it _right_ away, but I definitely do recommend you get it at some point. Natural childbirth…I don't even know what I was thinking…"

This time, it was Peyton who laughed. "I personally thought you would be the last person to go natural so I'm not really surprised you changed your mind."

Brooke kinked an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah, well I…" She trailed off, her eyes narrowing, as a new feeling took over her.

"Are you okay?" Peyton asked anxiously.

"Yeah," she murmured, shifting uncomfortably, "I just…I feel like I need to push."

Peyton looked around the room uncertainly. "I should probably get the doctor. Stay here."

Brooke laughed. "Yeah, like I'm going anywhere."

* * *

"Eight, nine, ten… Alright, Brooke, take a rest."

Lucas' eyes were locked on Brooke as her head fell back onto the pillow, breathing heavily. Her eyes were clamped shut and bead of sweat were forming on her forehead. She looked more exhausted than he had ever seen her but they were _so_ close now. He was literally minutes away from meeting his daughter.

"You're doing amazing," he said, kissing her brow. She just nodded, her breathes coming more slowly now.

"I'm so tired," she mumbled.

He wiped her hair back, not really knowing what to say except that it would be over soon.

"Brooke, another contraction's coming," the doctor said. "Are you ready?"

Brooke grimaced, but nodded. "Yeah…"

"Okay," a nurse said, "get ready…Alright, push."

Brooke's eyes closed again in concentration and her teeth clenched together. A moan escaped her lips, but otherwise, except for the counting of the nurse, the room was silent. He waited anxiously for the ten seconds to pass.

"…Ten. Nicely done, Brooke," the nurse comforted her.

"I can see the head," the doctor said with a smile. "Just one or two more pushes should do the trick."

Brooke's lips twisted into a smile. "She's almost here, Luke," she said through her short breathes.

He grinned, kissing her softly. "I know…" he murmured.

A minute later and she was pushing again. He hands were sweating in anticipation. They were so close and he couldn't help but smile.

"Just a little harder, Brooke. I've almost got her…And, here she is."

Brooke let out a cry as her head fell back again and Lucas looked on in amazement as the doctor held up the tiny figure that was their daughter. A shrill cry fill the room and Lucas' throat tighten at the sound. He felt tears springing to his but he didn't care. This was his daughter. He and Brooke had created this life.

The baby was quickly wrapped in a blanket and handed over to Brooke, who had tears streaming down her face. She beamed at the newborn, her eyes never leaving her, and the crying ceased.

"Look at her, Luke," she murmured. "This is our daughter."

He was completely speechless. There were really no words to describe how he felt in this moment. The only word that could even remotely describe his emotions right now was overjoyed and even that was an understatement.

She was so small, but already so beautiful. She was still slightly messy from the birth, but her dark brown hair was her most prominent feature. She was practically a carbon copy of Brooke, except for her small button nose. That was definitely his.

His fingers trailed over her soft skin. "Welcome to the world, Lizzie Scott."

* * *

It seemed as if everyone he knew was in the waiting room. Peyton, Haley, Nathan, Rachel, Karen, Andy, Lily, Jamie, Jake, Jenny, Skills, Deb… They all seemed to take over the otherwise small waiting room.

The first person to notice him was Peyton. Her eyes widened as he walked into the room, a small bundle in his arms. Lizzie was all cleaned up now and ready to meet her huge extended family. Peyton quickly moved from Jake's side and over to him, with Haley and his mom quickly following.

The smile never left his face as he introduced his daughter to them.

"Everyone, this is Elizabeth Haley Scott. Lizzie for short."

He and Brooke had decided to keep Lizzie's name a secret from everyone else until she was born and so both Peyton and Haley were both more than surprised to hear the name.

"Luke… Thank you…" Tears filled Peyton's eyes and Lucas was amazed at how happy Peyton seemed to be for them. Suddenly everything that had gone on between him, Peyton, and Brooke didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was the present and future. The past was done away with and he knew that they had all moved on.

Haley punched his shoulder playfully. "Why didn't you tell me?"

He just laughed. "I told you— Brooke wanted the name to be a surprise."

They all gathered around him, admiring the small girl in his arms. His mother was crying as she gently touched her hand to Lizzie's face.

"She's so beautiful…"

Everyone seemed to be in agreement about that. Now, with her head full of dark brown hair and pale soft skin, she looked like an angel— especially with the light blue eyes that were looking up at all them.

"Look at those eyes," Haley said. "They're all yours, Luke."

Lizzie's eyes seemed to pierce his own as she looked right at him and Lucas couldn't look away.

Nathan chuckled as he patted Lucas' back. "She's already a daddy's girl."

* * *

She'd only been gone for ten minutes, buy Brooke was already missing her daughter like crazy. And so she was extremely happy when Lucas walked back into the room with her in his arms. Brooke's arms reached out for her right away and Lucas carefully handed their daughter over to her.

"Hey, baby girl." She tenderly kissed Lizzie's forehead, smiling down at her.

Being a mother had to be one of the most amazing feelings in the world. _This_ was why she had come home to Tree Hill. This human being in her arms was now her purpose in life. Nothing could even properly describe just how happy she was right now. She'd never even expected that she could be _so_ content. The two people in this room—Lucas and Lizzie—were all she needed. Nothing else mattered.

"I can't believe she's finally here," Lucas murmured. His hand had found hers and she squeezed it gently.

"I know," she replied. "It's amazing… _she's_ amazing. I love her so much already."

"Me too…she's just so perfect, isn't she?"

Brooke nodded, her eyes still on their daughter, who was looking up at her with bright blue eyes. "Yeah, she is."

"And she's _ours._ We made her."

Brooke looked up at him and their eyes locked. "Thanks for making me a mom, Lucas. You've given me all I could have ever wanted."

He bent his head down to kiss her. "Thanks for making me a dad."

She kissed him again and their foreheads rested against each other. "I love you so much, Lucas."

He looked down at their daughter below them who in turn was looking up at them with her big blue eyes. Lucas just smiled.

"I love you too."

**A/N: **Sorry for the extreme cheesiness, especially at the end, but it just had to be done. And sorry if this chapter seemed a bit rushed. I wrote it really quickly and didn't have a lot of time to edit it, but I just wanted to get it up as soon as I could, you know as a late Christmas present to you all :D. This isn't the last chapter, just in case some of you thought it was. There will be two more chapters, I think, and one of them will be the epilogue.

Also, I've posted a new BL story on the site and it's something I'm really excited about. It's called _The Shadow Proves the Sunshine_ and it's got the drama that this story has been lacking lately. So check it out if you haven't already (and be sure to drop a review while you're at it :D)!

Thanks so much for reading and please remember to review!


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

She found it amazing at just how much her life could change in such a short amount of time. In the six months since Lizzie had been born, Brooke and Lucas' lives had been flipped upside down in the best way possible. She couldn't lie— being a mom wasn't easy. Much of the time it was hard and tiresome, but at the end of the day it all paid off and it turned out to be better than she could have ever imagined.

Lizzie Scott was a bundle of energy. Lucas said she got that from her mother and Brooke knew that was probably true. She cried a lot, something Karen said had been a rare occurrence for Lucas when he was a baby, and she also seemed to thrive on the attention from everyone around, especially Lucas. She was a daddy's girl; she had been since the day she was born.

Lucas loved his daughter, though, and Brooke was pretty sure that he had to be one of the most amazing fathers out there. He claimed to have had plenty of practice with Lily and Angie, but Brooke knew it was all natural for him. He said the same to her, but like most new parents, there had been plenty of times where Brooke struggled. But Lucas just seemed so perfect with Lizzie and that was one thing Brooke was extremely grateful for. The way he handled her and interacted with her— it was like he had been doing it for years.

And now things had changed even more because, only a month ago, she had officially become a Scott. She and Lucas were finally married. And, aside from the day Lizzie was born, it had been the most magical day of her life. After the wedding had come the honeymoon. She hadn't wanted to go far from Lizzie and she also hadn't wanted to be gone for long and so she and Lucas had gone to Rachel's family cabin for a short, four day trip. It hadn't been the most luxurious of places but it had been the perfect place for her and Lucas to simply relax and enjoy their first few days of married life.

Now, a few weeks after she and Lucas returned, they were settled back into their normal routine. It was later in the evening and Lizzie was nearing her bedtime. Brooke rested on the couch with Lizzie in her arms. Her daughter's eyes were drooping and she was obviously ready to sleep.

Lizzie's fingers clasped onto Brooke's. This was something she had found Lizzie was particularily fond of. She loved touching things, but most of all, she loved holding onto things with her tiny little hands. A smile rested on her lips as she watched Lizzie's eyes finally close. Hopefully she would sleep most of the night tonight.

The distant sound of a car door slamming sounded in her ears and she looked outside to see Peyton walking up the driveway. Setting Lizzie down in the small cot that she kept in the living room, Brooke quickly walked over to the door, opening it before Peyton got the chance to knock or ring the door bell. .

"Hey, P. Sawyer," she said in both a quiet and cheerful voice. "What are you doing here?"

Peyton grinned. "Hey, B. Scott. I just thought I'd stop by and say hi. Is Lizzie awake?"

"Actually she just went to sleep. Wait, didn't you say you were supposed to be recording in your studio with Jake tonight?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Then why are you here? I mean, not that I'm not happy to see you, but shouldn't you be with Jake?"

Peyton just chuckled. "I'm meeting him at the studio in an hour, Brooke. Don't worry, I'm not missing anything. So can I come in?"

Brooke nodded and led Peyton inside.

"Where's Lucas?" Peyton asked as they settled onto the couch.

"I sent him to the store about a half hour ago. He'll be home soon."

"Hey, I thought you said Lizzie was asleep."

Her eyes followed Peyton over to where Lizzie was sitting in her cot, her blue eyes staring at them both. Brooke let out a soft laugh and bent down to pick up her daughter.

"Did Aunt Peyton wake you up?"

"Hey!" Peyton said, playfully swatting Brooke's arm. "I was quiet!"

Brooke situated Lizzie in her arms. "Yeah, but you're not being quiet now, that's for sure."

Peyton arched an eyebrow. "Fine, fine, but you're not exactly the queen of silence, either. Anyway, at least she doesn't seem to be angry at being woken up since she's not crying."

She looked down at Lizzie, who was distracted by Peyton. "She must just be happy to see her Aunt Peyton."

"That's got to be it."

Lizzie's eyes were locked on to Peyton, so much so that it was almost amusing. Peyton made funny faces down at her, but Lizzie's mouth remained in a firm line; she seemed to be concentrating on something.

"She really can't take her eyes off you, Peyton."

And then Lizzie reached out towards Peyton, her hands trying desperately to reach Peyton's. Brooke's eyes widened when she saw what Lizzie was so enamored by.

"Oh my God! P. Sawyer, is that an _engagement_ ring on your finger?"

Peyton pretended to look innocent. "Hmm, oh this?" She lifted her left hand, examining the big diamond ring that hadn't been there a few days before. "Maybe," she sly said.

Brooke practically bounced in excitement. "I can't believe it! When did he propose?"

Peyton smiled. "Last night. I would have told you sooner, but we had a lot of celebrating to do."

"Oh, Peyton, I'm so happy for you. You and Jake deserve this so much."

"Thanks, Brooke. This just feels so right, you know? It's like there's no doubt in my mind about this. I know that Jake's the one I'm going to spend the rest of my life with."

"You _have_ to let me make your dress, Peyton."

"Of course you're gonna make it. You'd kill me if you didn't."

Brooke laughed and handed Lizzie over to Peyton. The little girl's fingers immediately clung onto Peyton's ring, but Peyton didn't seem to mind. Brooke really couldn't have been happier for Peyton. Everything had finally come into place. She and Lucas were married, Nathan and Haley were still going strong after all these years, and Jake and Peyton were engaged. This was how things were supposed to be.

"Isn't crazy how things worked out?" Brooke asked.

Peyton looked up from Lizzie thoughtfully. "I wouldn't say crazy. It was probably a little crazy at how _long_ it took for us to get to this point, but I'd say things worked out just perfect. We all found our way back to the people we were meant to be with."

"We lost our way for a little while, didn't we?"

"Yeah," Peyton said, "we definitely did. But what matters is that we found our way back again."

"You know what?" Brooke asked, sitting up a little. "I think it's a good thing you and Lucas got engaged last year."

Peyton looked at her curiously. "Really?"

"Yeah. You and him needed to be together to realize if you really worked together or not. And I know that you had high school and the year after that, but over the years you both had changed so much and so did your relationship. So if you hadn't gotten engaged there would have always been the question of 'what if' in your mind and you never would have fully been able to move on."

Peyton nodded slowly, taking in her words. "That's the way I always looked at it, to be honest. Lucas and I never had any closure after our first breakup and we really needed it in order for us to figure out our lives. So, yeah, even though it hurt a lot at first after it ended, I don't regret it at all. The only thing I do regret is that we didn't get the closure sooner. Maybe then, you and Lucas could have gotten a bigger jump start on this family of yours."

"And you and Jake could have found your way back to each other sooner."

"Maybe…" Peyton's eyes misted over with a look of pure happiness. "How awesome is it that after over _five _years of almost no communication with each other, Jake somehow ended up back here? And he turned up when I needed him most."

"He did have perfect timing," Brooke agreed.

"I just can't believe that we're actually getting married, after all these years."

Brooke grinned. "Now _that's_ what I call a kick-ass love story. You and Lucas can't even compare."

"What can't Peyton and I compare to?"

Brooke and Peyton turned to look at Lucas, who was standing at the front door, his arms full of grocery bags. Setting them down, he made his way over to them, sitting in between them both.

"Oh, I was just saying how Leyton could never compare to Jeyton."

"Or Brucas for that matter," Peyton said. "We just suck together, Luke."

"Yeah, we kind of do," Lucas said, chucking softly as he took Lizzie from Peyton's arms. Lizzie's eyes immedietly lit up at the sight of her father. He sprinkled kisses all over her face and Lizzie let out a tiny laugh. As much as she cried, Lizzie laughed just as much, something else Lucas claimed came from Brooke.

"Well, I gotta go meet Jake at the studio," Peyton said, standing up. "Catch you later."

"Bye, Peyton. And congratulations!"

"Congratulations for what?" Lucas asked as Peyton walked out the door.

"Peyton and Jake are engaged!" Brooke exclaimed.

"Really? That's awesome. I knew Jake would take good care of her."

"I know. They're perfect together…"

Lucas' arm wrapped around her shoulders. Lizzie had settled down a bit and was now snuggled in his free arm, her eyes drooping once again as she neared sleep. Brooke leaned against him, her hand gently stroking her daughter's peaceful face.

"So," Brooke said after a few minutes of comfortable silence, "Haley wants us to come over tomorrow so Lizzie and Michael can have their first play date."

Lucas cocked an eyebrow. "Play date? How can they even play? Michael's like a month old and Lizzie's not that much farther ahead."

"They might not be able to do much, but they'll look so adorable together. It's too bad Lizzie and Michael are cousins, because they sure would make one good looking couple."

Lucas laughed. "Once again, Brooke, they're _babies_. Put their ages together, and they're not even seven months. And like you said, they're cousins. That'd be gross."

"Lucas, you're ruining all my fun."

He smiled as he moved his face towards hers. "Sorry," he said, lightly kissing her nose.

"It's okay," she mumbled as his lips moved down to hers.

"Mmm, kid in the room," Brooke said, pulling away as the kiss deepened. He groaned, but let out a soft smile as he looked down at Lizzie.

"She's sleeping."

"Yeah, I know, but would _you_ want your parents doing that to you while you were sleeping peacefully in their arms? No, I don't think you would." He simply laughed and she rested contently against him once again. His hand ran up and down her bare arm.

"So, I talked to Lindsay today."

Brooke perked up at this. "Any news on the book?"

He grinned. "It'll be out six months from tomorrow."

"Lucas, that's great!"

"I know. I can't believe it's going to be out so soon."

She thought of Lucas' newest book. Lindsay had been in love with it from the moment Lucas had sent her the first manuscript, which was a bit of a surprise to Brooke because the story revolved around her and Lucas' love story. But Lindsay and her bosses had been hugely impressed with book and immediately pushed for the publication.

Brooke had read almost the whole thing. It had been amazing to look back at some of the most important aspects of her and Lucas' relationship and remember how much had happened since then. The story, unlike his first novel, was told in more of a memoir style, covering the most important events that happened between him and Brooke, starting with their first meeting with her practically naked in the backseat of their car and ending with their wedding day—a scene he had only wrote three weeks ago, during their honeymoon, and he had sent to Lindsay a few weeks ago to finish up the manuscript. It was the only part Brooke hadn't read yet.

Picking up Lizzie and setting her down in her cot, Lucas pulled a familiar stack of papers out from the computer bag that was situated near the couch. He handed it to her with a grin.

"Read the last page."

A smile immediately lit up her face as she grabbed the manuscript from him and her eyes scanned the newest addition to his book.

_She looks so amazingly beautiful. It's impossible for my eyes to leave her beautiful face as she slowly walks up the aisle, her arm linked with her fathers. She's looking at me too. Our eyes are completely locked. Nothing can distract us from each other._

_Today is just about us. Today is the day that I will finally settle down. It has taken me years to find my way back to her—back to the woman who had changed my life more than anyone else. _

_She is my world. She means everything to me and I'm so incredibly lucky to have her. I cannot possibly stress that enough._

_And, as we say our vows and I commit myself to her for the rest of my life, there is not one inkling of doubt in my mind. I just _know_ that this is how it supposed to be._

_Brooke Davis once said, "People who are meant to be always find their way in the end."_

_There has never been a statement more true. She and I have been through so much, together and apart, but still, six years after we first met, we are back together again— joined as one, forever and for always, until death and eternity afterwards. _

_As the minister pronounces us man and wife and she and I share our first kiss as husband and wife, I know that everything was worth it. Brooke Scott is my past, my present, and my future. _

_And my love for her will forever reign triumphant. _

Her eyes were tearing up, but the tears that fell down her face were happy ones. He looked at her with a small smile, patiently awaiting her reaction. His hand cupped her face and his thumb wiped away the tears.

"It's perfect, Luke."

And it was. It summed up his book—their relationship and all that they had gone through—perfectly. Because they had been through so much together—good and bad—and yet they were here today, tied together in the most sacred way possible. Despite all odds, they had made it. Even though they had both suffered over the years, at the end of the day, the love they shared had remained the same. And that was all the mattered.

**A/N: **Okay, please don't kill me, but I've decided that this was the last chapter. I had planned on an epilogue, but this chapter pretty much wrote itself and basically a lot of the stuff that I had planned for the epilogue ended up being in this chapter. So really, this basically is the epilogue. But don't worry—I will probably post a few one-shots from this universe that are set in the future, so there's still a little more to come. But, as of right now, this story is complete.

Thank you _so_ much for reading. I can't express how much it means to know that so many people have enjoyed this story. I've had so much fun writing it and it's really an honor to get to share it with all of you. And to everyone who has reviewed— it's because of you all that I've been able to write so fast. You all have been so encouraging and really are my inspiration to write. So thank you so much. Every single review means the world to me, it really does!


End file.
